She-Ra and the Crystal Gems
by TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju
Summary: After Lars and the off-colors are captured by the Horde, Steven Universe and Adora are both called upon to stop Hordak's evil plan in this tale of cross-dimensional heroics.
1. Breaching the Barrier

She-Ra and the Crystal Gems

Chapter One: Breaching the Barrier

* * *

Way out in the distant reaches of space, in a galaxy very far from our own, a pair of starships streaked through the darkness. The smaller of the two bobbed and weaved through the vacuum as bolts of plasma flew from her persuer's cannons, attempting to blow the ship to space dust. The smaller ship was called the _Sun Incinerator_, and she was captained by Lars of the Stars, accompanied by his loyal crew of off-colors. Currently, they were being hounded by Emerald, a Homeworld air marshal who's stolen ship they were currently piloting.

A blast from Emerald's ship narrowly missed the _Sun_'s hull. "Yow!" the pink human Lars shouted in alarm. "Ol' Emmy's out for blood this time! She's really gone off the deep end!"

"Captain!" said the fusion named Rhodonite. "I-I'm not sure how long we can avoid her cannons! There's nothing out here to hide behind, and the nova thrusters are damaged!"

"Just stay calm, Rhodonite!" Lars said. "We just have to hold off until Fluorite can fix those thrusters!"

"Aaaallmmmooosssst goooooot iiiiiiit…" came the slow voice of Fluorite from below deck.

On Emerald's ship, the _Destiny Destroyer_, the green Gem cackled to herself with malicious glee. "Those cursed pirates can't possibly escape this time! Target all four cannons for a final assault!" All of the _Destiny Destroyer_'s cannons began to glow with an eerie white light.

"Captain, we're being locked on to!" cried the left-most Rutile twin. "She's locking on to us, Captain!" cried her right-most sister.

Lars tried to reassure his team. "Hold it together, crew, now's not the time to fall to pieces!"

"Too late!" shouted the hysterical Rhodonite.

"Everyone! I've had a premonition!" said the peach-colored Sapphire named Padparadscha. "We're all in terrible danger from an otherworldly foe!"

"Thank you for the update, Pads!" yelled Lars. "Fluorite, are we almost ready to launch!?"

Down below deck, the ship's engine had seen better days. It had followed Rhodonites example, falling to pieces. "Thiiiiiiiss maaaaayy taaaaake a whiiiiile…" Fluorite said.

The _Destiny Destroyer_'s cannons lined up to compensate for the _Sun_'s evasive maneuvers, while Emerald grinned a grin to make a shark envious. "Fire...on my mark," she said giddily. The ship's console began beeping faster and faster, before emitting a steady tone. "NOW!" she shrieked.

Mere seconds before the beams illuminated the blackness, something truly strange happened. An anomaly in space-time appeared directly in front of the _Sun Incinerator_. A strange distortion only perceptible by her scanners. For a split second, both Rutile twins noticed something odd on the monitor, and just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. However, upon vanishing, it took Lars and his crew with it. Beams of plasma speared out into the emptiness past a target that was no longer there, as the _Destiny Destroyer_ slowed to a halt.

Emerald stared out into space in confusion. "What?" she said, bewildered. "What was that?" she asked her crew. "Where are they? Where are _we_? _What is happening!?_"

Unbenounced to her, Lars of the Stars had been whisked away to another dimension due to the experiments of a madman. It was a dimension of darkness, where no stars shone, and but a single planet floated in its vast expanse. This dimension existed below the known universe, created by and flowing with dark magic. It was called Despondos.

* * *

Deep in the recesses of his metal sanctum, a conqueror of worlds stood, overlooking his latest creation. Below him sat a sizeable room where a ring of metal hooks sat at one end. The way this machine worked, was to punch a hole back to the main universe just long enough to target an object with desirable metal or mineral quantities, and pull it into the room beneath the viewing platform. With this, his army would have a near-endless supply of resources with which to conquer the world.

"My portal technology may not yet be sufficient to bring my main army to this planet, but with this, Etheria will soon be mine," spoke Hordak, leader of the Horde. "And none of it would have been possible without you, my dear lab partner."

"I'm just as excited as you are!" said the target of his praise. An excitable girl with goggles and long purple hair, whose name was Entrapta. "Now, let's fire this bad boy up already!"

Entrapta positioned herself near the portal's control console, prepared to target an asteroid rich in resources ripe for consumption. She knew the chances of it were slim, but she couldn't help but hope that this machine could bring home some First Ones tech. Her supply here in the Fright Zone was beginning to wear thin, and she had long wished for some more to play around with.

"Beginning primary activation sequence," said Hordak, as he threw a lever. The metal hooks sparked with static electricity as the portal flared to life in a swirling expanse of colors. Entrapta was so overjoyed, she almost forgot her job.

"Secondary activation sequence…" she murmured, typing coordinates into the control panel. Several potential candidates appeared on the screen, one of which in particular seemed filled to the brim with various metals. In fact, it contained large amounts of plastics and polymers which the computer did not recognize. Without so much as a second thought, she targeted this one immediately. "Target locked. Throw the switch!"

Hordak did just that, as the portal surged with energy. Several layers of force fields expanded in front of the viewing deck to cushion the impact of the meteoroid, should it be travelling fast enough to damage the wall. With one final burst of color, the object blasted out of the portal far faster than expected. Fortunately, the force fields held it, as the ship that was previously presumed to have been an asteroid settled to the floor. The hooks on the back wall slowly began to cool.

Hordak stared at the mysterious ship with a mixture of surprise and irritation. On the one hand, this bizarre vessel was most likely not rich in raw materials. On the other hand, whoever or whatever was piloting it could very well be an asset. Although, on yet another hand…

"That ship...it can't be…" Hordak quietly growled.

"Well, that definitely wasn't the outcome I was expecting!" Entrapta interjected. "Think we should see what's inside?"

Hordak wasn't listening, as he had already stormed off. Several Horde soldiers had heard the commotion, and had congregated to see what had gone down. "Get everyone available inside that ship," Hordak said. "Let nobody out, understood?" The soldiers nodded.

At that same moment, the ship's inhabitants were still getting their bearings. "Ugh...what was that about?" Lars asked while rubbing his head. The off-colors were likewise disoriented.

The Rutiles were able to reactivate the screen, and what it showed was not reassuring. "Captain, I'm not entirely sure where we are…these readings don't match any known sector. In fact, I'm not sure we're even _in_ a sector."

"Not in a sector? What does that mean?" Lars inquired, examining the room their ship was now in.

"I mean," Rutile continued, "wherever we are, there doesn't seem to be any astral bodies nearby. There's the planet that we're on, then a couple moons and a sun, but further than that, nothing."

"Well that's...eerie," said Rhodonite. She looked around at their surroundings. "It looks like somebody brought us here."

"But who?" asked Lars.

Padparadscha piped up. "I've just had a terrible vision! We are going to be pulled into another dimension by the Horde!"

Rhodonite tilted her head. "The...who now?"

"Uh, you guys? We aren't alone anymore," Lars said. Several humanoid beings dressed in green armor had begun to surround the ship. A handful of them wheeled a levitating drill-like device to the door.

"Are they Gems?" left Rutile pondered. "I don't think so," right Rutile said. "They look like organics to me."

"Well," Lars said, "I suppose it isn't too late for diplomacy. We shouldn't give them a reason to hate us if we can avoid it. Rhodonite! Open the doors!"

Against her better judgement, the fusion obliged. The door to the _Sun Incinerator_ slid open with a hiss, as Lars walked forwards to present himself to their possible captors. The Horde soldiers didn't expect the ship's crew to exit willingly, but stood back nonetheless to see how this would all play out.

"Greetings!" shouted Lars, playing up the theatrics to an absurd degree. "I am Lars of the Stars, intergalactic space pirate! I bear you no ill will!" The Horde soldiers looked at each other, unsure of how to approach this. Until, however, one of their higher-ups walked to the front.

"Well, it's _such_ an honor to meet you, Lars of the Stars!" she said. "How nice of you to drop in. We weren't expecting any guests, though."

The way this woman spoke gave Lars the impression she wasn't being entirely genuine. "Um...it's an honor to meet you as well! And might you be in charge here?"

"You could say that," she said, before turning to one of the soldiers. "I don't want to deal with this clown right now. Throw him and any of his lackeys on the dungeon for now."

"Right away, Force Captain Catra!" the soldier replied. Several of the Horde soldiers drew their weapons, advancing on Lars and his crew.

"Th-the dungeon!? Uh-oh. I get the impression that you don't exactly appreciate my company," Lars said. "If it's all the same to you, you can just show us the exit, and we'll be on our way…" the soldiers didn't listen.

Lars hurriedly ran back into the ship, entering a room towards the back. At the press of a button, a pedestal raised up from the floor. On it sat five devices similar in appearance to tuning forks: Gem destabilizers. 'For emergencies only' was hastily scrawled on the side of the pillar in Lars' handwriting. He grabbed one of the destabilizers and ran out of the room.

Fluorite would be able to hold off the soldiers for a while, but none of the Gems nor Lars had any combat experience, so he wasn't sure how long they could last in a fight. Lars aimed to do what he figured would help them all the most in the long run: take out the commander.

Waiting until the soldiers walked past his hiding spot, Lars sprinted out of the ship, and towards Catra. The feline heard him only moments before he reached her.

"Take _this_!" cried Lars dramatically, thrusting the destabilizer against her shoulder. Absolutely nothing happened whatsoever.

After a few moments of silence, Lars chuckled sheepishly. "I guess they mean it when they call it a 'Gem' destabilizer…"

"No kidding," Catra replied. With a shout, she leapt into the air, delivering a powerful kick to Lars' head. And that was the last thing he remembered.


	2. Prison Break

Chapter Two: Prison Break

* * *

When Lars came to, he found himself locked away in some sort of prison cell. What had happened was, after he was knocked unconscious, Horde soldiers had overwhelmed the rest of his crew, poofing them. Gems were naturally tough beings, but their sheer numbers and weaponry ultimately proved too much for them. To the confusion of his minions, Hordak had ordered each gemstone to be placed in a different cell.

One by one, they began to regenerate. Padparadscha was first, followed by Rhodonite's Ruby. Next was Rutile, and a trio of black Gems, presumably components of Fluorite. Then were two more of her component Gems, one powder-blue with a flowing robe, the other dark purple and fairly large. Last came two Pearls, one red and one green.

Lars attempted to touch the barrier at the front of the cell, and was greeted by an unpleasant shock. Evidently, the prisoner next to him had tried the same thing earlier.

"Yeah, I wouldn't bother with that," a dry female voice came from the neighboring cell. "They've got this sort of energy field, and it's _not_ fun touching that…"

Lars turned. "Huh? Is someone there?"

"No, you're just, like, hearing things," she replied. "Uh, _yeah_ somebody's here!"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that was kind of a dumb question…" Lars admitted. "So...what are you in for?"

"Well, me and some of my friends were called in to protect this one villiage from a Horde raid. It kinda went south, though, and I got captured. Hopefully they'll be here to rescue me soon, because it kinda totally sucks here. You?"

"Well," began Lars, "to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. We were trying to escape from Emerald in our ship again, when all of a sudden we ended up in this big room! Next thing I know, these 'Horde' guys attack us, and I get roundhoused by some cat lady!"

"Ugh, Catra's the _worst_!" the woman said. "Wait, so you're not from Etheria at all?"

"No, I'm from Earth!" replied Lars. "I don't even know what Etheria _is_. Oh, I'm Lars, by the way. My crew calls me Captain Lars, or sometimes Lars of the Stars, if you wanna get technical."

"Cool. I'm Mermista."

"Lars? Captain Lars, is that you?" another voice called from above. "It's me, Hematite! Oh, uh, I'm one of Fluoride's Gems."

"Yeah, I'm down here," Lars called back. "Is everybody alright?"

Several voices called back in the affirmative. Lars counted ten voices. "Right, so then that just leaves…"

"Everyone! Terrible news! We are all about to be taken captive by the Horde!"

"...Padparadscha."

"How many of you _are_ there?" asked Mermista.

Yet another voice called out. "Hey! Enough fraternizing, prisoners!" A darker-skinned girl wearing a Horde uniform walked in front of Lars' cell. Her voice had a slight twang to it.

"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" Lars asked.

"I'm the one who's gonna smack you into next week if you all don't pipe down!" she yelled, walking on.

"Hey, um, you do know that the rest of my friends will be here soon, right?" Mermista asked. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about them than us right now."

"I thought I told you to shut it, Princess!" the girl growled. "And anyways, we fully expect for your friends to show up! In fact, we have an ambush set up right now! Those princesses won't know what hit 'em when they show up!"

As she said this, a distant. explosion rocked the entire cell block.

"Come on, seriously Kyle!? _Again_ with this nonsense!" Their guard ran off, once again leaving the prisoners alone. Sounds of combat were heard off in the distance.

"She can't say I didn't warn her," Mermista said.

Meanwhile, up near the control deck, Rutile had a better view of the fight. Several figures were tearing through large spherical machines that reminded her of robonoids. They even had lasers to match. As the small unit got closer, one of them spoke.

"You go and get Mermista, we'll handle the robots!" a large warrior with an equally-large sword shouted. One of the party members split off from the group, headed towards the deck. He was a dark-skinned male, armed with a bow and arrow.

He entered the control room, and began to fiddle with the panels. Rutile called out to him. "Hello? Hello over there! You with the bow!" The young man turned towards her. "We need your help, the Horde captured my friends! Can you let us out as well?"

"Of course! Any enemy of the Horde is a friend of ours!" he said. He returned to the controls.

The dark purple Gem called out. "I can't see from down here, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, Spinel, we're being rescued!" Rutile shouted to her. After working at the controls for a bit, their rescuer slammed a button down; this caused every single prison cell to deactivate.

"All right!" cried Mermista. "I told you they'd come through!" Unfortunately, the battle wasn't over yet, as several guards began rushing into the room. Before a trio of them could reach Lars and Mermista, Spinel leapt from above, knocking them to the ground.

"Now is probably a good time to get going," she said.

Above them, the archer was disabling more of the troopers with trick arrows. The Ruby and Pearl had fused back into Rhodonite, who was now attempting to get Padparadscha to safety. The three Hematites had fused into a larger one, who was now fighting off more Horde troopers. The blue robed Gem was still in her cell, meditating, while Rutile got closer to her new friend.

"Thanks for the assist," she said. "How are we getting out of here?"

"Same as last time," he replied. "I managed to hotwire a skiff on the way in here, and hopefully Frosta hasn't crashed it by now. I still don't know why Glimmer let her drive it…" He whipped around, stunning a Horde soldier with an electrical arrow. "My name's Bow, by the way."

Rutile glanced at his weapon. That should be easy enough to remember. "I'm Rutile," her left head said. "I'm Rutile also," said her right head.

The Hematite fusion was continuing to pummel the soldiers, knocking them to and fro with a single swing of her large arms. "Heh, I could do this all day!" she boasted. She was instantly proven wrong as a blast of energy hit her in the back, knocking her to her knees. "Ooh, not again," she groaned, before poofing back into three Hematites. Behind where she stood was Catra, wielding a stun baton.

"Oh boy, not her again!" Lars whispered.

Behind them, Spinel leered downward at a timid-looking Horde guard. She chuckled. "You're not nearly big enough to take me down! Have you even _seen_ me!?" She was interrupted by a figure approaching her to her left, dealing a massive blow to her jaw. Spinel was sent several feet into the air, before tumbling down to the levels below.

"Eh. I've seen bigger," the figure said. She was indeed larger than Spinel, with a stinger tail and a pair of claws as well.

"Ugh, this just gets better and better!" growled Mermista. The pair were surrounded, a Force Captain to either side of them. All hope seemed lost when, in a flash of light, a short girl dressed in pink appeared before them.

"Party's over, time to go!" she said. She grabbed onto Mermista's shoulder, and Lars was just barely able to grab her other one as the trio teleported, reappearing outside the compound.

A hovering vehicle approached them, dodging energy blasts and plowing through battalions of soldiers. The group of heroes boarded it once it reached them, followed by Rutile, one of the Hematites, the green Pearl, and Rhodonite, who was carrying Padparadscha. A tall, blonde warrior held her hand out to Lars.

"Wait!" Lars yelled. "We have to go back for the others!"

"There's no time! We'll come back for them later, but we can't stay here any longer!" She was right: more and more Horde robots were approaching, and the skiff seemingly had no weapons to hold them off.

Lars paused. "Then I'm going back alone!" he decided.

Rutile jumped off the skiff. "So are we!" both of her heads said in tandem. The woman looked like she wanted to argue, but the two ran off before she could say anything. Overwhelmed, the heroes had no choice but to abandon the pair, as the skiff sped off, leaving the Fright Zone behind.

Lars and Rutile reentered the cell block. The cells had reactivated, and the blue Gem was still trapped inside. Not that she had made any effort to escape. More troopers patrolled the area, looking for the prisoners that had escaped.

"What's the plan, Captain?" asked Rutile.

"I-I'm not sure…" Lars admitted. "I didn't think this through, to be perfectly honest."

"Wait, there's more of them up here!" a voice called from behind them. It was the muscular woman from before. "Hey, Catra, I found some of 'em!"

Rutile and Lars ran off, fleeing down several hallways, as the woman gave chase. They managed to put some good distance between them, but they eventually reached an impasse. At the end of a hallway, a door they reached was locked tight. No matter how much both of them pushed or pulled, it would not budge. Before long, They heard footsteps approaching.

"This doesn't look good," moaned Rutile. "Any other ideas?"

Lars though for a moment, before he was struck with one. "Steven!" he cried. You can go to Earth and warn Steven, and then he'll bring the cavalry!" The footsteps came closer still. "Hurry, get into my head!"

The door at the other end of the hall burst open, revealing Catra. She entered just in time to see Rutile disappear into Lars' hair.

Catra was understandably confused. "Wha? How did-nevermind!" The large woman entered behind her. "Scorpia, hold him still!"

Lars tried to dodge to the side, but the hallway was too narrow. Scorpia managed to catch him in a bear-hug, as Catra approached. She experimentally reached towards Lars' hair, surprised when her hand disappeared into it. She took the plunge, sticking her entire head into his.

She emerged in a pink field near a tree, pink grass surrounding her. Looking around, she saw Rutile approach another tree a few meters away, disappearing into the grass. She was about to give chase, only to realize this land had no air. She pulled her hair from the portal, taking a gasping breath.

"Are you okay!? What did you see in there?" asked Scorpia.

"Scorpia...go get Entrapta," said Catra, breathing heavily. "And hold on to him. I'm going back in."


	3. Beach City

Chapter Three: Beach City

* * *

Catra emerged from the grass on the other end of the field, and was greeted by shade, sand, and the smell of the sea. She stood up to examine her surroundings: she was underneath some sort of wooden outcropping next to a mountain. She turned behind her and found a pink lion lounging in the sand. The beast opened its eyes slightly, only barely registering that a cat girl had walked out of its mane.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer!" Catra growled, before walking out into the sun. Several other figures began to emerge from the lion's mane. As Catra walked out to the beach, she saw the Gem that had escaped her looking out across the ocean.

"So, this is Earth," said left Rutile. "It's just as beautiful as Lars described," right Rutile said.

"It's too bad you only got to see it for a short time," came the voice of Catra from behind them. "The only thing you're going to see now is the inside of your prison cell." She readied a stun baton, pointing it at Rutile.

The Gem refused to turn around. "You won't win this, you know. Once Steven gets here, and sees what you did to his friends, he and the other Crystal Gems will stop you."

"That's a good point," Catra said. "Which is exactly why this 'Steven' will never find out." A green orb shot out from the stun baton, striking Rutile in the back. The Gem doubled over as her physical form flickered, before she disappeared, leaving only her gemstone behind, which Catra picked up with cold disdain.

"Hey, Catra!" came the voice of Scorpia. "There's another big cat over here! And this one's pink!" Rolling her eyes, Catra returned to the shady spot. She could now see that the lion lay beneath a house of some kind, located in front of a massive statue of a many-armed woman. Scorpia stood beside the lion, while Entrapta was inspecting the inside of its mouth. It seemed annoyed, but otherwise didn't object. Three more figures stood beside them.

"Here," Catra said, tossing the gemstone to one of them. "Take this back to a cell." The girl nodded, re-entering the lion's mane.

"Where exactly are we?" asked one of the figures asked, this one a timid blond boy, as he looked around.

"Earth, apparently," Catra answered. "Wherever that is. Now get back to the prison block. The last thing we need now is more prisoners escaping." The third figure, a tall reptilian being, carried the boy over his shoulder back into the lion's mane as the latter took a deep breath.

While Entrapta was examining the lion, she was interrupted by a buzzing coming from her pocket. She produced a communicator, which she promptly flipped open. Looking at the screen, she handed it over too Catra. "Um, it's for you."

On the other end was Hordak. "Force Captain Catra, your soldiers have returned with the prisoner. Where does the portal attached to the boy lead?"

"The portal leads into some kind of pocket dimension, but there's another portal on the other end," Catra reported. "It leads to somewhere the prisoner called 'Earth.'"

""Earth'...I've never heard of such a place," Hordak said. "Is that all?"

"Just about everything of substance. The prisoner also mentioned somebody named 'Steven.' She said he was a friend of Captain Lars. Does the name mean anything to you?"

"I have never met anyone by the name of Steven. However, considering the company kept by the boy called Lars, it is likely that this 'Steven' is involved with the Gems somehow."

"Lord Hordak?" Catra asked. "You sound like you're familiar with these 'Gems' Have you seen them before?"

"I recognized that ship as Gem technology the moment I saw it," answered Hordak. Before I was trapped in Despondos, the Gems and the Horde were at constant odds. The two armies were the greatest superpowers in the universe, rivaled only by the other. The wars the two fought for territory devastated all they touched. If this Steven is aligned with the Gems, I advise you keep your allegiances a secret."

"I understand, Lord Hordak," Catra said.

Hordak continued. "The rebellion has not yet discovered Earth. Provided the planet has not already been colonized by the Gems, we may be able to subvert their defenses and conquer it. This mission is of the utmost importance, Catra. Earth may very well be the turning point in our struggle against the Princesses. Do not fail me." The transmission ended.

Catra pocketed the communicator. "Now all we need is a base of operations…"

"Hey!" called Entrapta from above her. "The door up here is unlocked!"

The three of them made themselves at home in the home. "Huh. Homey," observed Scorpia. "Do you think Steven lives here?"

"Hard to say," Catra replied, "but somebody does. Even if this isn't where he lives, whoever does most likely knows him. We'll stay here until the owner shows up. Until then, I have a cover story for us…

* * *

"...and us being refugees is the most part, so don't forget that. Now, do both of you understand?" Scorpia and Entrapta, the latter of whom was more interested in figuring out how to work the television remote, both nodded.

"So, I just had a thought…" Scorpia said. "If Steven or whoever goes through the lion, he's gonna realize we're tricking him."

"That's the only hitch I can see in this plan," Catra replied. "We'll just have to keep anyone out of there for as long as we can. Actually…"

The reptile man, Rogelio, returned from the Fright Zone with a handful of hardware. "I asked Hordak to send us some of his portal technology," Catra explained, dismissing Rogelio. "That way we can not only solve his portal problem, but also have another way to and from Etheria. Two birds with one stone!"

Scorpia's stomach growled. "Right, well, speaking of birds, I'm gonna go and...scout...for stuff. You know, secure the perimeter, and all that. I'll be right back!" She left the domicile and headed towards civilization.

"Entrapta, are you going to get working on this portal, or what?" Catra asked. Entrapta had gotten the T.V. working, and was currently transfixed by a soap opera.

Over in Beach City proper, down by the boardwalk, Scorpia had followed a very enticing scent which led her to a whitish box-shaped vehicle staffed by a young blond boy. She approached the source of the smell.

"Hello, what can I get yoooooooh my…" he said. Strange happenings were not uncommon in Beach City, but he had never seen anything like this woman before.

"Hey, do you have food here?" she asked him.

He collected himself enough to respond with a quiet "Uh...yeah."

"Great!" she said. She didn't say anything else for a while. The two awkwardly stared at each other. "So...can I have some?"

Some...some what?"

"Food."

* * *

It had been roughly half an hour since the trio had arrived on this new planet. Catra reclined on the couch, bored out of her mind, while Entrapta continued to stare at the television. Eventually she decided to explore a bit more, coming across a round, blue, crystalline platform towards the back of the house. _Is this some sort of transporter?_ She thought to herself.

Her theory was confirmed when a bright white light shot upwards from the platform. Startled, Catra fell backwards and scrambled towards the door. Four beings stood upon the platform once the light had diminished: the Crystal Gems. They did not notice Catra immediately, as they were talking to one another.

"...and when Amethyst tripped it up with her whip, and you got it with your spear!" the smallest of the four said. "You two are getting so good at working together!"

"No, it was all her!" the second-tallest said, bashfully. She looked like she was about to continue, until she saw Catra sitting on the floor.

The Crystal Gems and Catra stared at each other for a while. The sounds of a cheesy rom-com flowed from upstairs.

It was the boy who broke the silence. "Uh...Hi!"

All too self-aware, Catra stood up. "Um...yes. Hi. I, um, I was looking for you."

One of the Gems, Pearl, stepped forwards. "I'm sorry, but who are you? How exactly did you get in here?"

"The door was unlocked!" Entrapta called from above.

Pearl turned back to Catra. "How many more of you are there?"

"Just three. One of my..._friends_...went to scout around in town. The reason we-"

"Are you a cat?" the purple one asked. She circled Catra to try and make out more of her feline features.

"Yes, I am a cat," Catra replied, slightly irritated. "Now, you are all no doubt wondering who, and possibly what, I am, and what I'm doing in your house. The truth is, we came here because we need your help. My name is Catra. Upstairs is my associate Entrapta. We come from a planet called Etheria, far away from here. The way we ended up here was, Entrapta was working on some new portal technology, but something went wrong. A portal opened up, and we became trapped on this world, with no way to get back." Catra became choked up with faux emotion. "We just want to get home. In our travels, I heard tales of a Gem called 'Steven,' who just might be able to help us." Catra walked towards the tall reddish Gem, whom she assumed to be this 'Steven.' She held a gemstone contained within a bubble. "The stories tell of your bravery, and heroics, a mighty warrior who vanquishes evil and helps the helpless. I ask you, Steven, to help us return to the place from whence we-"

"Garnet."

Catra Stopped. "Excuse me?"

"My name's Garnet. _He's_ Steven," the red Gem said, gesturing towards the small boy, who waved helpfully.

"Ah," Catra said. "The legends didn't come with pictures. So, Steven," she knelt down to eye level, "are those legends true? Do you really vanquish evil and help the helpless?"

"Well, Homeworld seems pretty evil right now, but I haven't done a whole lot of vanquishing. That's usually these guys' job," he said, indicating the Gems. "But I do help people a lot...so, sure!"

"Excellent!" Catra said. "With your help, we'll get home for sure!" She turned away from the Gems. "I can't wait to meet the _welcoming party_…" she said with a sinister smirk.


	4. Brightmoon

Chapter Four: Brightmoon

* * *

In a field near a village, several figures stood beside a crashed skiff. Bow in particular was examining the vehicle. "I knew we shouldn't have let Frosta drive," he said with a sigh.

"I coulda done it!" the young princess cried indignantly. "I just didn't see that tree in time."

"It's not really that big a deal," Glimmer added. "It's only a short walk back to the castle anyway. Of course, we'll need to find a place for our new friends to stay," indicating the Gems.

The tall sword-bearer had shifted into her normal form. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," she said to the Gems.

Rhodonite stepped forwards. "My name's Rhodonite, and this is Padparadscha. Those two Gems over there are…"

She had gestured towards Hematite and Pearl, but the two were no longer there. In their place, a single larger Gem appeared in a glow of light. She was dark green, and a second, smaller torso emerged from where the lower one's head would be. Her lower pair of arms were stout as opposed to her slender upper ones.

"Ah, that feels so much better!" she said, stretching. Glimmer was staring at her with sheer bewilderment. "It's no Fluorite, but it'll do for now." She walked over to the others. "I haven't been around for long, but I think I'm called Bowenite. It's good to meet you all."

Glimmer was stunned. "I, uh...I'm Glimmer. This is Adora." The latter waved.

"You've met Bow already," Adora said. "That's Frosta over there next to him. And over there are Mermista and Perfuma.

"We're the Princess Alliance!" Perfuma said excitedly.

The group began the hike back to Brightmoon. "That's the center of our operations," Glimmer explained. "It's also where I live."

"So, all of you are, er, 'princesses?'" asked Rhodonite. Gems had no concept of royalty the same way most other races do, and as such she had never heard the term before.

"Sort of," Adora explained. "I only became a princess after I found this sword, so i'm sort of like an honorary princess. All of the others are, though. Except for Bow."

"I like to consider myself an honorary princess, too," chimed Bow.

"How long have you been fighting the Horde?" Bowenite asked.

"My whole life, it seems like," Glimmer answered. "The Horde's been on this planet since before I was born, and the Princess Alliance has been fighting it ever since. The old Princess Alliance, though...it didn't go so well. The Horde decimated them so badly that they disbanded. My father…" She shook her head. "He didn't make it. But I'm confident that the new Princess Alliance can win! Because we have a secret weapon!"

"And, what would that be?" asked Rhodonite.

"Me!" shouted Adora. "I don't know the full extent of it, but I'm kind of the chosen one. It's not really a big deal, though. Being a legendary hero. No pressure."

"So, how about you guys?" asked Frosta. "What's your story?"

"Well, we're called the off-colors," said Bowenite. "It's not as glamorous a title as the 'Princess Alliance,' but we weren't really a glamorous group. See, Homeworld doesn't really like Gems who're different from what they're supposed to be."

"Sounds kind of like the Horde," Mermista noted. "They're not exactly big on people who don't submit to them."

"Same with Homeworld," she continued. "We were hiding underground until Lars and Steven came along. We helped Steven get back home, but Lars was stranded. It all turned out pretty good, though, because he helped us escape! We stole a spaceship, and now we travel the stars under the guidance of Captain Lars, on a mission to return to Earth!"

"Incredible…" Perfuma whispered.

After walking for several minutes, the Princess Alliance plus friends arrived at the kingdom of Brightmoon. Glimmer went in ahead to tell her mother about their new guests. "Hey Mom, we're back!" she shouted.

"Glimmer!" came the voice of Queen Angella. "I trust the rescue mission was a success?" The queen descended a staircase towards the group.

"More so than you'd think," Glimmer said. "When we got to the prison block, it turned out the Horde had taken a few more prisoners aside from Mermista…" The group stepped aside to reveal the Gems. Rhodonite waved bashfully, while Bowenite did so enthusiastically.

"My…" Queen Angella said. "Pardon my manners, but I've never seen beings such as you before. Might I ask where you are from?"

"Well, you could say we're not from around here," Rhodonite said. "We're Gems. We come from Homeworld."

"I see. And where is your homeworld?"

"That's its name," Bowenite explained. "Our homeworld is Homeworld. We are actually refugees. We were escaping from one of their enforcers, and suddenly we found ourselves in the Horde's grasp."

Angella rapidly approached Rhodonite. "This 'Homeworld' of yours...does it have any stars?"

"Oh yes, plenty of stars," the fusion answered. "We have loads of stars. We swear by the stars, in fact."

"I don't believe this," said the Queen. "You're from outside Despondos."

"That name has been brought up several times during our time here," Bowenite said. "What exactly is it?"

"I will explain everything to you in a moment," Angella said. "For now, just know that you may stay here in the castle until you find a way home."

"Wonderful news, everyone!" Padparadscha shouted. "I predict we shall meet a beautiful angel who shall offer us a home!"

* * *

"You won't get away with this," growled Lars. "Steven's gonna find me eventually, and when he does, you're in for it!"

The pink young man was shackled in place within Hordak's inner sanctum, being held face-down several feet off the ground. The Horde was keeping him as a living gateway to Earth.

"This 'Steven' you speak of...is he a great warrior, by any chance?" came the voice of Hordak from the shadows.

"Well...not really," Lars admitted, "but the Crystal Gems-"

"Is he a brilliant tactician?"

"I wouldn't call it tha-"

"Is he an engineering genius?"

"No. But he-"

Hordak stepped out of the shadows. "Then why do you depend on his help so? What can the Steven do that you so severely lack?"

Lars was silent for a few moments, trying desperately to keep his nerve. He wanted to say 'he's the nicest kid in the entire universe,' but he knew this would win him no points with Hordak. Instead he said, "He's brave. Braver than anyone I've ever known, human of Gem. There's nobody that this kid won't stand against. And I'm telling you right now, whatever-your-name-is, messing with his friends is not a good idea."

"Such arrogance," said Hordak. He produced a metal clamp from his workbench, fastening it to Lars' mouth. He could no longer speak. "It's no wonder you get along so well with Gems. And my name is Hordak. You would do well to remember it."

The Horde's leader walked away several paces before turning back. "And even if the Steven is anything like you describe him, he will be destroyed the moment he stands against me. Just like all the rest."

Down in the prison block, three Gems were contained in cells. Spinel had been thrown back in hers after Scorpia knocked her block off, Rutile was placed back in hers by Lonnie, and Opal never even left hers. Rutile had not yet reformed.

"Opal…" asked Spinel, "how come you didn't try to escape with the rest of us? We could've made it."

"'Could' is not the same as 'will,' my friend," said Opal. "Given the Horde's might, based solely on what we had seen, I surmised I had no chance of escape. In addition, knowing you were doomed to remain here as well, I simply did not want you to remain alone."

"That's...actually very perceptive," Spinel replied. "Thank you for that. We may not be _together_ together, but at least we can be here together."

"Indeed. Even a single companion is infinitely better than solitude in a situation such as this."

"You can say that again," said Spinel. "Speaking of being alone, what do you think happened to Lars?"

"I fear his unique abilities may be making him an asset for the Horde," explained Opal. "The one they call Hordak was most interested in creating portal technology, which is how we got here in the first place. Our captain being a connection to Earth most likely makes him very useful. A blessing and a curse."

"Well, let's hope Steven and his buddies can do something."

"Yes, our only option now is to believe in Steven."

Meanwhile, in another part of the Fright Zone, a pair of Hematites crawled through the air ducts.

"Remember when Lars was talking about 'less-than-ideal situations?' I'd say we're in a less-than-ideal situation right now."

"Less complaining, more sneaking."


	5. Connie Meets the Horde

Chapter Five: Connie Meets the Horde

* * *

_Some women from another dimension need my help to get back home. One of them is part cat. I don't think they're Gems. How soon can you come over?_

It certainly wasn't the strangest text Connie had ever gotten from Steven, but it was definitely up there. As Connie walked down the streets of Beach City towards the temple, her sword strapped to her back, she wondered about these strange women Steven had mentioned. They had traveled all across the world and seen all manner of strange creatures and technology, Steven had traveled through time, and been to space more than once, one of those times with her. Another dimension, however, was new territory. Unless one counted the inside of Lion's mane, which Connie did not.

Before long she reached the beach, treading across the sands to Steven's house. What she could only assume was one of the aforementioned women was sitting in the sand, tinkering with an odd contraption. That was not the weird part: the strange thing was her long purple hair seemed to be doing most of the heavy lifting. Connie stopped to watch her work, the tendrils of her hair manipulating the pieces of the gizmo.

"Could you hand me a six-sided hex driver?" the woman asked. She was wearing some sort of welding mask over her face. Unaware of what a 'six-sided hex driver' was, Connie awkwardly picked up one of the tools in front of her, handing it to the woman. "Close enough. Thank you!" she said. Connie only nodded.

Connie walked up to the porch, wondering just what the other dimensional travellers had to offer. She reached for the door handle, but the door opened before she touched it; she was greeted by the sight of a massive woman with red pincers for hands. Connie stepped back, slightly startled.

Steven squeezed his way past this woman into the doorway. "Connie!" he said. "You made it!"

"Of course! I'm not one to miss out on Gem stuff!" replied Connie. "Or other-dimension stuff in this case."

The clawed woman crouched down to their level, accidentally bumping Steven to the side. "Hey Connie, nice to meet you, I'm Scorpia!" She held out one of her claws, which Connie shook awkwardly. "I know I look like a giant scorpion, but there's no need to be intimidated, unless you look like a giant cricket. I think...do scorpions eat crickets? To be honest, I've never seen a real scorpion before. Oh! Speaking of eating, I'll be right back!" With that, Scorpia stood up, and went back inside the house.

"Well...she's quite a character," Connie said. Steven nodded, laughing.

"Come on in, I'll take you to their leader," he said. Inside the house, a giant banquet was set out on the table; Scorpia had returned with more than just the bits. Lion was napping on Steven's bed, and someone Connie had never seen before was talking with the Gems. "Connie, this is Catra," Steven said of the new visitor, who turned to face them. She was indeed part cat. "Catra, Connie."

"Oh, welcome, friend of Steven!" said Catra, playing up the theatrics. "From what Steven has told us, you are his most trusted partner!"

"Thank you, I-I am?" Connie said, turning to her friend.

"Well, of course!" replied Steven.

"E-even more than the Gems?" Steven nodded. Connie smiled.

"Any friend of Steven's is a friend of ours," Catra said. "I'm so glad you came to help us get back home!" Connie said something in response, but Catra was more focused on her sword. It reminded her of an old friend, and not all of the memories were pleasant.

"Excuse me," interrupted Catra, "but I couldn't help but notice that impressive sword you have there. Steven told us many of his allies are great warriors. Would you happen to be one of them?"

Connie drew and contemplated the pink blade. "Well, I wouldn't call myself a _great_ warrior, but-"

"_I_ would!" interjected Steven.

"Thank you, Steven. What happened was, I wanted to help Steven and the Gems on their adventures and stuff, so Pearl taught me how to swordfight!"

"It's quite an impressive blade," Catra said. "It reminds me of someone I once knew. Where did you acquire it?"

"Steven gave it to me," said Connie. "It used to belong to his mom."

"Rose Quartz," said Steven. "She was the leader of the Crystal Gems. A war hero, too. And war criminal…"

"It's unfortunate how wars work," Catra said. "One can see herself as a great hero, yet she turned against the ones she loved."

"Yeah," Steven said, "That about sums it up." He noticed an emblem on Catra's uniform, and then saw Scorpia wore one as well. "Excuse me," he said, "if you don't mind me asking, what is that symbol for?"

"Oh, this?" Catra said. "This is the symbol of a Force Captain. You see, on Etheria, there exists a powerful army known as the Horde. They exist only to conquer and destroy, taking everything they can for themselves. The three of us used to be members of the Horde. Scorpia and I even used to be Force Captains. But we couldn't stand to see them destroy our home any longer! That's why we built the portal in the first place, to escape from them. But now that it's broken, we're cut off from the rest of our friends. We have to get back home, before the Horde destroys everything we love."

The Crystal Gems looked at each other solemnly. "We know all too well what that kind of evil is like," Garnet said. "Just know that if you ever need a home, Earth will always be open to you."

"You're too kind," said Catra, "but we...actually, that sounds like a perfect idea! Once we get the portal up and running, we can bring all of our friends here! We can start a new life on Earth, free from the Horde! Oh, I can't thank you enough!"

"Hurray!" said Scorpia, who was eating a pizza. "I could get used to living on Earth. The people here are the best! All you have to do is walk into their diner, and they scream and give you all the food you can carry!" She leaned over towards Connie. "Oh, by the way, feel free to help yourself, I've got more food than I know what to do with!"

"That's great!" said Steven. "We're getting more new neighbors! Speaking of which, I should tell Lars about you guys!" Steven raced towards the stairs, but Scorpia leaned in front of him.

"Hold up!" she shouted. "You can't see Lars!"

"What? Why not?" asked Steven. "Wait, do you know Lars?"

Scorpia just sat there, trying to formulate a reply, when Catra came to her rescue.

"Sort of. When we first got here, I found out about your pet's mane. I went to pet him, but I found my hand had entered a pocket dimension instead."

"Aww. Yeah, that's Lion for you. You know, he never told me he could do that, I had to find out foy myself."

Catra gave Steven an odd look. "Y-your lion's name is 'Lion?' Nevermind...the point is, that's how we met Lars. We told him about our little problem, and he pointed us towards you. He also told us he was going on a very important stealth mission, and that you suddenly popping up out of his hair could put him in danger."

"Well, we can't have that," said Steven. "But how will I know when it's safe to visit him?"

"He said he's send one of his Gems to send a message to you," Catra said. "Until then, you should probably stay away from him just to be safe." Steven agreed.

"Well, if there's any way we can help you with your planet, just let us know," Pearl said.

"Yeah, we'll show 'em what for!" said Amethyst. "You just tell us they're givin' you trouble, and we'll show 'em why you don't mess with the Crystal Gems!"

Catra smiled. "You're all so nice. I almost feel bad taking advantage of your helpfulness."

"Of course not," Pearl assured her. "The Crystal Gems are the defenders of freedom for all life, not just Earth."

Entrapta stuck her head through the door. "Uh, not to interrupt or anything, but I-now, don't get your hopes up-_kinda_ got the portal working."

Catra sighed. "And how close to Etheria is 'kinda?'"

"Not very, unfortunately," she said. "I think it's still somewhere on Earth. Where exactly is…" She looked outside. "...Ho-bo-ken?"

Pearl stood up. "Maybe I could give you a hand with that. I have some experience with warp tech. Different dimensions are new, but it should be somewhat similar."

"Sure! The more the merrier, right?" said Entrapta.

"Wait a minute, Pearl!" said Steven. "You guys should go and see Peridot! If anyone could figure that out, it's her!"

"That's not a bad idea," Pearl said. She walked outside and deactivated the portal, folding the frame up like a mass of tent poles. "It's just a short walk, I'll show you the way," she told Entrapta.

"I can't thank you enough for your help, Steven," Catra said.

"No problem!" he said. "I'm happy to help!"

"Well, if there's any way me and my friends can help you once they get here, just let me know."

Steven thought for a moment. "Well, Homeworld had been trying to kill us all for the past few years. See, the Crystal Gems used to be from Homeworld, but they rebelled when Homeworld invaded Earth. Rose Quartz was their leader, and now Homeworld thinks I'm her."

"Sounds like I'm not the only one with problems. But don't worry: once my friends get to Earth, we'll take care of Homeworld next."

"I dunno," said Steven, "Homeworld is pretty powerful."

"I've got some powerful friends," said Catra with a wink. "Anyway, while we wait for your friends and Entrapta to finish, why don't you tell me about Rose Quartz?"

"Okay," Steven said, "but it's kind of a long story…"

"I don't mind, I've got time to spare."

"Okay then." Steven sat on the couch next to Connie. "It starts with the Diamonds, who invade planets to make more Gems. One of these planets was Earth…"


	6. What Next?

Chapter Six: What Next?

* * *

"Bowenite, get down from there!" shouted Rhodonite. The former was very impressed with Glimmer's bed, having never encountered something so bouncy on Homeworld. The room was filled with her giddy giggles.

"Eh, don't worry about it," said Glimmer. "I do that all the time. But right now, we need to plan our next move."

"What do you mean?" asked Rhodonite.

"Your friends are still trapped in the Fright Zone, aren't they?" said Glimmer. "We've got to find some way to rescue them!"

"Wow…" Rhodonite said. "You only just met us, and you're already so willing to help us?"

Glimmer stood up. "I've seen first-hand the suffering the Horde can bring. The entire reason I wanted to reunite the Princess Alliance was to stop them. If anyone is in danger because of the Horde, than I want to do whatever I can to help."

"So," Bow said, standing nearby, "any ideas?"

Glimmer thought. "Well...I doubt a direct attack will work a second time. They're probably expecting us, and even if they aren't, we barely made it last time. Looks like a good old-fashioned stealth mission is our best option."

"What about Steven?" said Bowenite, still bouncing above them. "Surely he can help!"

"You guys keep talking about Steven," said Bow. "Who exactly is he?"

"Oh, Steven's the best!" Rhodonite gushed. "He's the reason Captain Lars became our captain! Without him, we'd still be stuck on Homeworld!"

"He sounds pretty impressive," Glimmer said. "I'll bet he's a great leader."

"He is!" continued Rhodonite. "Captain Lars says he looks up to Steven. I guess you could say he was his mentor. He's strong, and kind, and heroic. And he's the son of Rose Quartz, former leader of the Crystal Gems!"

"We could really use someone like Steven in the Princess Alliance!" said Bow.

"With Steven and the Crystal Gems on your side, you'd win for sure!" Rhodonite said. Glimmer and Bow both formed their own images of Steven based on this knowledge. To Bow, he was a brave warrior with sword and shield in hand, fighting off armies of Horde soldiers all on his own, with only his midriff uncovered by his armor. To Glimmer, he looked not unlike her father, and was likewise a gifted sorcerer.

"So, how are we supposed to sneak into the Frightening Zone?" asked Rhodonite. "It's probably very well-guarded."

"More so than it already was, due to our recent jailbreak," Bow added.

"If that's the case, we should probably go in with a smaller group this time," Glimmer said. "How good are the two of you at sneaking? Or is that four, I'm not really sure how this works…"

"We've been sneaking around Homeworld for centuries without being noticed!" Bowenite called proudly. "Those Horde bozos will never see us coming!"

"It's one thing to hide underground for your entire life," Rhodonite said, "but it's different to willingly walk into danger!"

Bowenite leaned over the side of the bed. "We snuck past Emerald's guards and stole her ship, didn't we?" she said.

"That was only because Lars was there to lead us," Rhodonite said. "I'm not sure we can pull this off without him…"

"Of course you can!" said Glimmer. "Because we'll be with you! Once Adora gets back, all...well, the three of us plus you guys will head out on a secret rescue mission! _Another_ secret rescue mission.

"We've had a lot of those lately, haven't we?" said Bow.

With a muffled "Oof!" and a soft thud, Bowenite fell off the bed and onto her face. Looking around, she said, "Hey, where's Padparadscha?"

"Oh dear," Rhodonite said, "she's wandered off again."

Elsewhere in the castle, Padparadscha was strolling down the corridors, having indeed wandered off. She had meant to return to Glimmer's room after a bit of exploring, but she had become lost in the unfamiliar castle. Her future-vision was offering no help, as always.

A guard stood in front of a door as the Sapphire passed by, and noticed her confusion. "Hmm? Hello. Are you lost?" she said. Padparadscha just stood there, a smile on her face. This added to the guard's confusion, who waved her hand in front of the small Gem's face. When she did not respond, the guard just shrugged, standing back in front of the door.

Padparadscha's smile turned to a look of concern. "Oh my," she said, "This is not good, not good at all!"

"Eh?" said the guard.

"I've had the most terrible premonition. The Horde will seek to use Lars' abilities to further their terrible goals! Oh no...Steven and the Crystal Gems are in great danger!"

* * *

Adora flew high above the Whispering Woods aboard her steed, the winged unicorn Swift Wind. Her goal was to ask Light Hope if she knew anything about the Gems that could help them. "If anyone on this planet knows anything about them, it's her," she had said.

They touched down just outside of the Beacon where Light Hope resided. "Well, here we are," said Swift Wind.

"Thank you," Adora said. "You wait out here, I doubt I'll be gone long."

"Okay, I'll just sit out here alone," Swift Wind said. "By myself. Without anyone else. While you go on another adventure."

"Swift Wind, I'm just going to ask one question," Adora said. "I'll be gone for like two minutes."

"No, no, I know," he replied. "You go on ahead, while your trusty steed waits out here for you to finish…"

"I need you to stand guard," Adora said, becoming fed up.

"Oh. Right." With that, Adora entered the sanctum of Light Hope, leaving Swift Wind alone. "It's absolutely because I'm a horse, isn't it?" he said to himself.

Upon entering the ancient Beacon, a holographic figure appeared before her. "Welcome back, She-Ra Adora," said Light Hope. "Shall we continue your training?"

"Not right now," Adora said. "I came here because I wanted to ask you something. What do you know about Gems?"

Light Hope's eyes closed, emitting a soft humming noise as she searched her database. "I have found approximately...forty-seven...documents related to 'gems.' Gems, also known as gemstones, or jewels, are valuable or semi-valuable stones composed of various elements or compounds-"

"No, not _those_ gems," Adora said. "Earlier today, when we went to the Fright Zone to rescue Mermista, there were some other people there that we saved also. They looked...different, and they said they were called Gems. Do you know anything about gems that are also people?"

"I shall search once more under these parameters," Light Hope said. She looked through her files once more. "I have found approximately...one...documents related to 'Gemkind' and 'Homeworld.' According to the records, She-Ra Mara once escaped from some of them during a mission. In it, she also mentions that they were engaged with the Horde."

"Hmm...so Mara knew about the Gems," said Adora," and they fought the Horde at least once. Is that really all?"

"I am afraid so, She-Ra Adora. Almost all documents from before Mara banished us to Despondos have been lost or damaged. This is the only one that I am able to access. I am sorry I could not be more helpful."

"It's no big deal," Adora said. "Honestly, I didn't expect to find much. At least we know that Gems have some history with the Horde. I...don't know what know what to do with that information, but it's better than nothing."

"Of course. I am glad I could be of assistance. Now, shall we continue your training?"

* * *

Deep within the Fright Zone, in Hordak's lair, Lars was still shackled in place. He had since come to terms with his situation, staring at the floor with a look of pure frustration. _Well, this is a less-than-ideal situation_, he thought to himself. He was startled by a noise coming from above him, having grown used to the silence. He assumed it was that pet Hordak kept around, but the noise seemed to come from within the ducts. All of a sudden, a pair of small black Gems fell out of the vents.

"Captain Lars!" one of them yelled. "We're here to rescue you!"

"We're gonna get you out of here!" the other shouted.

"How did you two get away from that cat lady?" Lars said. The two Gems approached their captain. "When she destabilized the three of us, we were able to slip into the vents," one of them explained. "Did the other Hematite escape?"

"Yeah, she got away with Rhodonite and Padparadscha," said Lars. One of the Hematites was cutting through Lars' restraints with a small flame on the tip of her finger. Before long, Lars was free.

"Quick, get in the ducts before Hordak notices!" one of them said. The pair boosted Lars into the air ducts before climbing in themselves.

A few minutes passed. Soon, the door opened, and Hordak himself walked in. The cut-through shackles were the first thing he noticed. He growled, crushing the edge of a nearby table in his fist.

Hordak picked up a communicator, contacting Catra. "What is it?" she said. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here!"

Hordak scowled. "Force Captain Catra, the priority prisoner has escaped."


	7. Science Buddies!

Chapter Seven: Science Buddies!

* * *

Ever since Lapis Lazuli had flown off, taking their barn with her, Peridot had periodically returned to the field where it used to lie. She would build little sculptures in honor of her lost friend. 'Meep morps,' as she called them. This is where she was now, twisting several pieces of rebar into place using her magnetic abilities.

"...and if I had just gotten to that patent office a few minutes earlier, I would have invented the welding torch!" came the voice of Pearl from behind the cornfields. Peridot turned towards the sound, expecting her to be talking to Steven and/or Connie. Instead, when she came into sight, she was joined by a human Peridot had never seen before. At least, she looked like a human, but Peridot was not entirely sure. After all, if humans could have long purple hair that could be used as grasping tentacles, it was news to her.

"Hello, Peridot," Pearl greeted. "Entrapta, this is the Gem I told you about."

The purple-haired girl called Entrapta approached the green Gem. "Hello there!" she said cheerfully, shaking Peridot's hand with a lock of her hair. "Pearl's told me a lot about you. I hear you're this planet's leading expert on technology! Though I must say, you're a bit smaller than I imagined…"

Peridot, confused, raised an eyebrow. "Okaaaay...Pearl, would you kindly explain what's going on here?"

Pearl did so. "Well, it's the strangest story! All of us Crystal Gems were returning from a routine mission, and when we got back to the Temple, there were several strange people waiting there for us! Er, no offence…"

"None taken!" reassured Entrapta. "I've always been one to take 'strange' as a compliment!"

"I see," Peridot said. "And you want my help to learn where they came from, correct? Have you tried asking them?"

Pearl sighed. "No, Peridot, they already told us. They're from another dimension, and they need our help to get back."

"I've got the portal frame already made," Entrapta said, placing it on the ground. "I just need to find some way to connect it to Despondos. From what Pearl told me, the two of you are my best bet for getting this done!"

Peridot examined the strange jumble of wires and poles. "Another dimension, eh?" She chuckled to herself. "Too easy. Let's get started!"

"Showtime!" said Entrapta, sliding her visor down. She pulled some blueprints from her pockets. "Someone get me a table, the fun's about to begin!"

Soon enough, the trio had begun working on the portal frame. While the portal had appeared several times, it was always to a location on or near Earth. "Hmm...something isn't right here," Entrapta said. She was holding several of the blueprints with her hair. "Everything here is working as intended, but for some reason, it isn't connecting to the other portal."

Peridot was staring at the girl's locks. "So, how exactly are you able to do that with your hair?" she asked.

"Oh, this? That's easy! I-" Entrapta froze. "Huh. I just realized, in all my years of scientific analysis, I never thought about how this worked…" She was now contemplating her own hair. "It just sort of _goes_, I guess. Well, once we get back to Etheria, that'll be one more thing to study!"

Earlier, Pearl had left to pick up some aggregated carbon nanorods from the convenience store. Peridot was tinkering with the portal frame. "So, tell me," she said, "what's Etheria like?"

"It's a bit like Earth, actually," she said. "There's a bunch of different kinds of people, some with more advanced technology than others. There isn't quite as much magic here on Earth, though. Are there more Gems out there?"

"Of course, there's millions!" said Peridot. "We have-I mean, they have a vast empire that spans whole galaxies across! I used to be a part of it, but I defected. I thought they were perfect, but that wasn't the case..."

"I know how you feel," said Entrapta. "I used to have some friends, and we were fighting for a just cause. But then they left me behind…" She looked longingly into the distance. "But I'm happier where I am know. I can continue my experiments unhindered now that I'm not with the Prin-er, the Horde."

"The Horde?" said Peridot. "Are those guys still active where you're from?"

Enrtapta turned around. "Wait, you guys have the Horde here, too? Or, had them? What exactly happened?"

"Well, Homeworld had been competing with the Horde for resources for quite a while," Peridot explained. "They started to win after Era 2 started, but something happened several hundred years ago. Actually, I think it might have been a thousand. Either way, they devolved into infighting amongst their ranks, and Homeworld wiped them out. The Horde in your dimension must be a remnant of them."

"Hmm. I'll have to ask about it once we get back home," Entrapta mused. "For now, could you hand me that-" Before she could finish, Peridot levitated her exactly the tool she needed. "Oh. Thanks!"

"Not a problem," said Peridot. "I just need a-" Using her hair, Entrapta handed Peridot exactly the tool she needed. "Wow. How'd you know?"

"You needed to tighten the subspace capacitors, didn't you?" said Entrapta. "I was just giving you the best tool for the job!"

"Alright, Entraptra..." Peridot said with a grin.

"Entrapta," she responded, "but close enough."

"Oh, right. Well, anyways, say I needed to reinstall an ionic projection unit. What would I need then?"

"That's an easy one, multi-torque insulator!" Entrapta replied.

"Alright, not bad," said Peridot. "How would you handle solar flare-induced system failure?"

"Complete system reboot, of course!" said Entrapta. "Hard reboot, not soft."

"And what about a-a carbotronic, uh, manifold breakdown event?"

"I'd reverse the polarity of the neonic drives, obviously!"

Peridot cracked up. "That doesn't even make any sense!" she laughed.

"What, like carbonic breakdown or whatever you said does?" Entrapta replied, joining Peridot in her laughter. After a while, the two calmed down a touch.

"Well, I have to say," Peridot said, "it's not often I meet somebody like you. Don't get me wrong, I like my friends here on Earth, but I think we have a real connection!"

"Right?" said Entrapta. "It's not often I meet somebody as smart as you. It's like we're…"

"Peridot and Entrapta, SCIENCE BUDDIES!" Peridot shouted.

"I love it!" said Entrapta.

The two were so caught up in their discussions that they had forgotten all about the portal. Peridot studied the machine a bit more, examining all of its intricate workings. "Maybe we're looking at this wrong," she said. "It might not be a technical problem, maybe it just doesn't have enough power to reach the other frame."

"Sounds reasonable," Entrapta replied. "If I had some First Ones tech I could probably whip something up. I don't suppose you have First Ones here on Earth, do you?"

"I don't know about 'first ones,'" said Peridot, "but I'm sure Gem tech would work just as well. Aha! That gives me an idea!"

Pearl approached the pair, returning from the store. "Well, they didn't have any aggregated carbon nanorods, but I did pick up some more chaaps for Steven. Any progress?"

"Absolutely!" said Peridot. "Pearl, change of plans, we're going back to the temple!"

* * *

"…and that's when you guys showed up!" said Steven. Scorpia had been enthralled by his tales, though Catra was barely awake. Connie actually had fallen asleep.

"Wow, that was...gripping," Catra said, rubbing her eyes.

"You can say that again!" Scorpia said. "I liked the part about Jasper, she seemed really cool!"

"Well, she certainly was intense," Steven said.

"And, what was her name, Topaz? Man, I related so much with her!"

Scorpia's enthusiasm was cut off when the front door burst open, startling Connie and Catra awake. "I've had a breakthrough!" cried Peridot, who had opened the door. Entrapta and Pearl were close behind her, the former carrying the portal frame.

"Guh!" Connie shouted. "W-where am I!? What year is it? ...Oh, right."

"Hey, guys!" Steven said. "Did you get the portal working?"

"Not yet, but we're about to!" she said. "In order to do it, I need access to the most powerful source of power I know of: the core of your temple! Amethyst, would you do the honors?"

Garnet tried to protest. "Amethyst, I don't think that's such a good idea," she said. But it was too late, as Amethyst had already opened the door to her room in the Crystal Temple. She and Peridot hurried inside, with Pearl and Entrapta following close behind. "Urgh. Peridot, Wait!" cried Garnet, chasing after them.

Catra stood up. "This, I gotta see. Scorpia, you stay here with these two, I'm going to help get this portal running." Scorpia, who had stood up, sat back down. Catra entered the door, which closed behind her.

Scorpia, Connie, and Steven sat in silence for several seconds. "So…" Connie said finally. "Either of you know how to play gin rummy?"

Catra walked through Amethyst's room, sneering in disgust at the literal mountains of assorted junk. The other Gems plus Entrapta had gone on ahead, leaving her to find this core herself.

The communicator in Catra's pocket buzzed. _Great_, she thought. Answering it, she said, "What is it? I'm kind of in the middle of something here!"

On the other end was Hordak. "Force Captain Catra, the priority prisoner has escaped."

Catra sighed. "Well, what do you want me to do about it? He's in _your_ dimension!"

"Just make sure the Crystal Gems don't suspect anything," he said.

"Whatever. They're so naive, they'll believe anything we tell them. Entrapta's getting the portal active, we should be-shoot!" Catra had stepped into one of the rivers that ran through Amethyst's room, causing her to stumble. In doing so, she dropped her communicator into the water, where it drifted down the river, finally going off a waterfall, and ending up on the floor of the Burning Room, amongst the bubbled Gems.


	8. Sneaking In and Out

Chapter Eight: Sneaking In and Out

* * *

Near the border of the Fright Zone, just beyond the range of any motion sensors or wayward troops, Swift Wind touched down. Glimmer, Bow, and Adora all hopped off his back. "Now, not that I'm trying to imply anything," he said, "it's just that carrying three people at once it a bit harder than just one. Now, I'm sure one at a time, you all weigh about the same, but together…"

"Don't worry, Swifty, we get it. Now, we'll hopefully be back in an hour, but if not, go get the other princesses, okay?" said Adora.

"Understood," said Swift Wind. "Your loyal steed will wait by the sidelines once again while you...did you just call me 'Swifty?'" But the best friend squad had already gone deeper into the Fright Zone.

"So, Adora, what exactly is this plan of yours?" said Bow.

"Just a minute," said Adora. She was scanning their surroundings for potential threats: so far, only a few Horde soldiers were visible. There was no sign of any Force Captains, specifically Catra. Adora wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. "You two get to the prison block, I'll distract the guards."

"And how exactly are you going to-" Glimmer said before Adora cut her off.

"For the honor of Grayskull!"

Adora had charged in towards the soldiers, assuming her warrior form. Hopping atop a nearby tank. "Hey guys, look who it is!" she shouted. "It's me, She-Ra! The Rebellion's greatest warrior!"

"Look! It's She-Ra!" one of the Horde soldiers shouted, as if the others had not seen her, or heard her calling attention to herself.

"Stop her! Don't let her get away!" yelled another. Weapons at the ready, the soldiers converged on Adora's location, who proceeded to lead them on a chase through the Fright Zone's streets.

"We'll teach you to be the chosen one!" a third yelled.

"News flash: the Horde is stupid!" Adora yelled back at them, clearly enjoying herself.

"Well, I guess that's one way to do it," Glimmer said. She and Bow snuck towards the prison block. Only a handful of soldiers and robots stood in their way, a majority of the Horde's forces having gone to deal with Adora.

"Wasn't it around here somewhere?" asked Bow. "I could have sworn this was where it was last time."

"Don't ask me," Glimmer said, "I'm not the one who left my tracker pad back at the castle!"

Running down the twisting hallways of where they had believed the prison block to be, the pair suddenly ran into an unexpected face. Three of them, to be exact, as they collided headlong into Bowenite and Rhodonite, who was carrying Padparadscha. Bow and Rhodonite fell backwards, as did Glimmer, though she teleported back up before she hit the ground.

"What the? What are you guys doing here?" asked Glimmer.

"We couldn't just sit around at the castle, comfy as it was!" Bowenite said. "Captain Lars needs our help, and what kind of loyal crew would we be if we didn't help bust him out?"

"But, how did you get here so fast?" asked Bow.

"That's not important right now," said Bowenite. "What _is_ important is that we free all our friends from the Horde's evil clutches!" With that, the tall Gem fusion ran off down another hallway, the rest of the group following after her.

"Did she just say 'it's not important' how you guys got here?" Bow asked Rhodonite.

"She did. She can be pretty vague," said Rhodonite. "I think that's one of the reasons Fluorite doesn't talk much. Anyway, one of Bowenite's powers is increased running speed. She can't turn or stop too well, but she is strong enough to carry someone. That someone being me."

"Be careful coming around this corner!" said Parparadscha. "You might run into Bow and Glimmer."

Before long, the group reached the prison block. It seemed to be even larger than any of them remembered, stretching down for several stories and housing hundreds upon hundreds of cells. They hid just out of sight, as a pair of guards still stood in front of the control tower.

"Okay, we just need to get past those two," said Glimmer. "Here's what we'll do: I'll teleport behind them and stun them with a glitter blast, and Bow, you-"

Another Horde soldier ran into the room. "What are you two still doing in here?" he asked.

"Uh, we're guarding, what's it look like?" one of them said.

"Don't waste time on the prisoners we already have, the She-Ra's here!" said the soldier. The two guards glanced at each other, before running out of the room.

"Or, we can do nothing, and the situation will resolve itself," Glimmer said. "That works too."

The gang walked over to the controls, with Bow attempting to figure out the new layout. "They changed it since we last raided the place. I guess I should have expected that," Bow said.

"Do you think you can figure it out?" said Rhodonite.

"I can, but it may take a while," he replied. "I can't open all the cells at once, and it'll take forever to open them one at a time. Trouble is, it doesn't say which cells are full.

"Look at the size of this place!" said Rhodonite. "How are we supposed to to find Captain Lars in here?"

"Like this!" said Bowenite. She walked out to the precipice and took a deep breath, to Glimmer's dismay. "HEY CAPTAIN LARS, WHICH ONE OF THE CELLS ARE YOU IN!?" Her shout echoed up and down the walls of the block, followed by a silence that seemed just as loud.

"_Are you nuts!?_" Glimmer half-whispered, half shouted. "Do you _want_ us to get captured!?"

"Well, what would you have suggested?" asked Bowenite.

"Everyone!" said Padparadscha. "Spinel is being held in cell 9B on level eleven, and Opal is being held in cell 8F on level nine!" Rhodonite shot Bowenite an annoyed look.

"9B and 8F, got it!" Bow said, returning to the controls.

"Hands up, intruders!" a voice from behind them yelled. A pair of Horde soldiers armed with stun batons entered the prison block, flanked by a robot.

"Look what you did!" said Rhodonite to Bowenite. "I hope you're pleased with yourself!"

The robot warmed up, preparing to fire. The guards approached the group, brandishing their weapons. Before either party could attack, one of the guards was struck from behind by a stun baton, while an unknown assailant took out one of the robot's legs. The robot fired its beam directly into the ground, causing it to explode. The second guard whipped around to find Lars and the two Hematites facing her. She lunged forwards with her baton, but was cut off when Glimmer struck her from behind with her staff, knocking her out cold.

"Lars!" shouted Rhodonite and Bowenite, running over to him. "How did you escape?" asked the former.

Lars hugged the two Gems. "Well, I-" Before he could explain, the sound of numerous footsteps echoed through the hallways. More Horde soldiers and robots entered the prison, leaving the group surrounded.

"Quick, in here!" Bow said. Everybody rushed into the control tower, and Bow sealed the doors shut behind them. Horde soldiers began trying to beat down the door. Rhodonite began to panic.

"Now what?" asked Glimmer. "I have enough left in me to get three of us out of here, and myself."

Bowenite had merged with the other Hematites, becoming much bigger. She was now walking on the knuckles of her lower pair of arms. "Does this help any?" she asked.

"I think you're too big," she said. "I can bring myself, Lars, Bow, and Rhodonite, but you and Padparadscha will have to stay."

"Wait!" said Lars, picking up the Sapphire. "Pads, you need to go in here, okay?" he said, gesturing towards his head. "Stay by the tree, and don't come out until someone comes to get you." He put her close to his hair, and she climbed through the portal.

* * *

Back on Earth, Scorpia was trying to find a way to get into the temple door. "Uh, so is there like a password, or something?"

"Sort of," said Steven. "It reacts to our Gems. We each have our own rooms in the temple."

"Do you have one too?" asked Scorpia.

Steven looked nervous. "Yes, but I don't think going in there is the best idea right now…"

"Steven!"

He turned around. That voice wasn't Connie's, but it had sounded familiar. Steven ran upstairs, where the voice had come from.

"Steven? Who was that?" Connie asked, standing up, but Steven had already ran past her to where Lion lay. Beside him was Padparadscha.

"Pads?" said Steven. "Is Lars done with his mission?"

"Lars and our friends are in great danger from the Horde!" she shouted. "So are you! We have to get out of here now!"

"The Horde?" said Steven. "Wait, how did-" He turned around. Scorpia was standing just behind him. Behind her, Connie was unconscious downstairs.

"Look, Steven, a lot of crazy things have happened today, but how about we just slow down, and-"

"You're still with the Horde, aren't you?" said Steven. "All three of you, you tricked us!"

"They're deceiving you, Steven!" Padparadscha said.

"Well, 'deceive' is a bit of a strong word…" said Scorpia.

Steven tried to run to the temple door. He almost made it, but Scorpia's tail was too quick. Steven felt a jab in his thigh, before falling asleep.

Sensing his master in danger, Lion sprung to his feet. Growling, he lunged at Scorpia, who caught him by the jaw. Scorpia stung him as well, and though it took more time, he too fell into slumber.

Scorpia was now surrounded by three unconscious bodies. "Aw, jeez. Oh man, this isn't what I signed up for! Okay, I'll just do one of these…" She Lifted Steven under her arm, before turning her attention towards the small peach Gem at her feet. As she wasn't moving, Scorpia glanced to either side of her, before destroying her physical form with her massive claw.

She pocketed the Gem. "Sorry, sorry! Okay, now let's just... get going, and I'll be back in a moment!" Carrying both Steven and Connie, she took a deep breath, and stepped into the dozing Lion's mane.


	9. Crossing Over

Chapter Nine: Crossing Over

* * *

Entrapta crawled all around the temple's heart, amazed at the technology on display. "This is incredible!" she gushed. "The First Ones have all kinds of crazy tech back on Etheria, but I've never seen anything like this! I mean, it doesn't even look like a machine, it just looks like a giant heart! How did you create something like this?"

Pearl followed her around, her excitement reminding her of Steven. "This is the heart of the Crystal Temple," she explained, but she wasn't entirely sure if Entrapta was listening. "It was made from the core of an abandoned Gem warship, bonded to the interior of the Temple by Rose Quartz's healing powers. This heart is what allows dozens of pocket dimensions to inhabit the same space at once."

"This powers the entire temple?" said Entrapta, furiously scribbling in her notebook. "In that case, we should be able to get back to Etheria no problem!"

Entrapta was so enamoured with this piece of technology that she had completely forgotten about the portal. Peridot now worked alone to connect the frame to the heart. "Garnet," she said, "I seem to be having trouble reaching with these wires. I don't suppose you could connect them for me? Entrapta seems to be busy."

"Actually, Peridot, I don't think this is such a good idea," Garnet said quietly. "Getting these people back to their own dimension is one thing, but I don't want to sacrifice the Crystal Temple to do it."

"Aw, you worry too much!" Peridot said. "This isn't going to drain all the heart's power. Just piggyback on it for a bit. You'll still have plenty of juice left!"

"Do you even know where that portal leads?" asked Garnet.

"Of course: back to Etheria. Granted, I've never seen Etheria before, but Entrapta said it's a lot like Earth."

"Peridot..." Garnet said, leaning closer. "You weren't there when these three first showed up, but haven't you noticed that everything has turned out a little _too_ well? The three of them are rebels just like us, they specifically asked about Steven, they said he couldn't see Lars...it all feels a bit contrived, doesn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Peridot. "You're telling me Ms. 'made of love' doesn't believe in the stars aligning? Maybe they're here _because_ they're rebels like us. And how can you say Entrapta's untrustworthy? I mean, just look at her!"

The purple-haired princess had finished examining the crystal heart, and was now talking to Pearl about the First Ones. "They were the greatest civilization in the universe! Surely the Gems ran into them at least once?"

"Not that I can remember," Pearl said. "I don't remember hearing anything about any 'First Ones.'"

"Hmm...they are pretty old," said Entrapta. "Maybe they predated Gemkind."

"That seems unlikely," Pearl said. "Gems have been around for eons, and their empire is almost as old. For the two races never to meet is close to impossible. Although...the Diamonds are pretty secretive. Maybe they did meet the First Ones at some point, but kept it under wraps."

"Ooh, a conspiracy! Sneaky!" said Entrapta.

"Garnet, I know the Crystal Gems distrust anything that could be perceived as a threat, but I want to help. Me and Entrapta are science buddies now. You wouldn't understand." said Peridot.

"I'm not saying we can't trust them for sure," Garnet replied, "but we should be wary of them. For all we know, they could have been banished from their dimension. For that matter, they could still be working for this Horde that they've mentioned."

"Have you ever considered the fact that you might be overreacting?" said Peridot. "If they were evil, why wouldn't they have just destabilized you guys from the get-go and taken over the temple? That's what I would have done."

"I think you're the one who's under-reacting," said Garnet. "And when did we give you permission to tinker with the crystal heart?"

"You know," Peridot countered, "for someone who's so distrustful of these people, you sure did leave Steven and the other one alone with them."

Garnet shot up in sudden realization. "Pearl, Amethyst, come with me," she said, and all three Gems hurried out of the room.

Peridot internally congratulated herself on this ploy. "Heh, I figured that would work! Hey Entrapta, we getting this thing working or what?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Entrapta said, walking over. With her advanced height and prehensile hair, she was easily able to fasten the cables to the heart. She then lifted Peridot up to them, where she connected the Gem tech to Entrapta's portal frame.

The science buddies had just about finished up when Catra walked into the room. "About time I found this place, this thing's a maze!"

"Catra, perfect timing!" said Entrapta. "We were just about to get the portal working!"

"Alright, nicely done," she said. "By the way, what was up with those Gems? They ran by pretty quickly just now. Did something happen?"

"Nah, they're just being paranoid," Peridot explained. "Hey, their loss-they're going to miss out on the first ever interdimensional portal ever created by a Gem! ...with help from her new friend, of course."

"Okay, let's hope this works!" said Entrapta. Slowly but surely, energy from the crystal heart was diverted into the portal frame. "I think we've done it! But there's only one way to be sure… Peridot?"

"Here goes nothing!" said Peridot, flipping the switch. Energy sparked from the portal frame, much more than when it was turned on before. Before long, a small hole in space-time appeared, growing larger to reveal a dimly-lit room. Peridot initially assumed this to not be the correct destination, but Entrapta was excited.

"I can't believe this, we actually pulled it off!" she said. "Uh, I mean, of course we did it! I had the utmost faith in the science buddies!"

"'Science buddies?'" said Catra.

"Wait, so _this_ is Etheria?" asked Peridot. "From the way you described it, I pictured something a bit more, I dunno, vibrant."

"This is my workshop, which is on Etheria," explained Entrapta. "The darkness helps me concentrate. But enough observation, let me show you around!"

"Um, shouldn't we test it to make sure it's safe?" said Peridot.

"Good idea!" Entrapta said, leaping towards the rift.

"Wait, that isn't what I-" Peridot said, but Entrapta had already crossed over. She waved from the other end.

"Hey! Look, you guys, we did it! You coming through, or what?"

Catra was the next one through, with Peridot left inside the temple. _Ah, what the heck, I didn't have any plans anyway_, she thought, stepping through the portal and into Entrapta's lab.

"I'll admit," Catra said, "I wasn't sure those Crystal Gems really had any way of helping us. And yet, now we have a portal between Etheria and Earth. Entrapta, why don't you show Peridot some of your projects?"

"Sounds like a great idea! Peridot, you ready for the science buddies to get back to work?"

"Am I ever!" responded Peridot. As the two science buddies walked over to some more or Entrapta's machinery, Catra quietly excused herself.

"Keep an eye on the portal in there," she said to a pair of Horde soldiers. "If anyone you don't recognize comes through, detain them."

Now that she was out of that nasty old cabin and back to the Fright Zone, Catra could report to Hordak and the invasion of Earth could begin. As she walked to his quarters, however, she ran into an unexpected face.

"Oh, Catra, Hey!" said Scorpia. "So, I take it Entrapta and the green thing got the portal working?"

"Scorpia!? How did you get back here before me, why aren't you still with those kids!?"

"Weeeeell, funny story about that…" Scorpia said. "We had a bit of an unexpected visitor." She showed Catra Padparadscha's inert gemstone. "The two of them kinda know we played 'em for fools. But don't worry, I took care of everything!"

"Everything?" Catra said angrily. "Does that include the Crystal Gems wondering what happened to Steven?"

"Don't worry," Scorpia said, "I brought him and his friend back here with me, and-Oh. I see what you mean. Yeah, they probably won't be happy."

"You think!?" Catra shouted. "Okay, you just stay and make sure they don't come through the portal, I need to see Hordak." The pair went their separate ways, with Catra finally arriving at Hordak's sanctum.

The room always unnerved her, even now that she was Hordak's right-hand woman. Of course, that was what Hordak had intended. What good was being an evil overlord if nobody was afraid of you? Adding to it, Hordak didn't seem to be on his throne. "Hordak?" Catra called. "Hey, Hordak, are you back there somewhere?" She descended further into the sanctum, ignoring Imp as the tiny creature watched her from the rafters.

"Catra," said Hordak suddenly, startling her. He had been working on...something towards the back of his sanctum, but what, Catra wasn't sure. "I hope you have some good news, because there has been a severe lack of that lately."

"Entrapta got the portal working, as you most likely figured out. Now we should be able to invade Earth without any trouble."

"Any trouble?" said Hordak. "Does that include the Crystal Gems? Or the She-Ra? Or the princesses that are attacking the Fright Zone as we speak?"

Princesses?" said Catra. "Wait, _Adora's here!?_"

"See to it that your old friend and the Princess Alliance are dealt with," said Hordak. "And do not disturb me again."


	10. Meetup

Chapter Ten: Meetup

* * *

Horde soldiers were surrounding the control tower. It was only a matter of time before they broke through the doors. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Lars asked Bowenite.

"Don't you worry about me," Bowenite replied. "I may not be a fighter, but I think I'm big enough to manage. Besides, I ain't alone: I've got each other!"

"What?" said Bow, confused. "Oh, right! Fusion. Well, good luck, I guess."

"Get to safety," said Bowenite. "I'll hold off these jokers!"

"Here goes nothing," Glimmer said. Herself, Lars, Rhodonite, and Bow all huddled together as Glimmer focused her energy. The four of them were enveloped in a light pink glow, before vanishing in a shimmering puff of light. Bowenite was now alone, or at least as alone as a fusion could be.

The door buckled as the Horde soldiers pounded against it. Bownite took a deep breath. "Here we go," she said quietly. Just before the soldiers could break through, she charged through it with a rush of super speed, knocking several of the soldiers out of the way. She came to a rest near the exit, turning to face her enemies. "Come on! You guys want to put me back in a cell? You'll have to catch me first!"

Bowenite turned and ran, being followed by numerous soldiers. Back in the prison block, two of the cells had been opened. Their two inhabitants stepped out into the open, surrounded by even more Horde soldiers.

"It seems we have company, old friend," Opal mused. "Shall we entertain them?"

"_Now_ you're talking' my language!" said Spinel, several floors down.

Both of the Gems were beset by their attackers. Opal nimbly dodged their stun batons with the dexterity of a martial artist. She struck back with precision, disabling them with well-placed chops and jabs. Spinel, on the other hand, tanked their strikes, and struck back in kind, sending her attackers flying.

"Spinel! Shall we converge once more?" shouted Opal. Most of the troopers near them had been dealt with, but new ones began entering, flanked with robots.

"You read my mind, babe!" responded Spinel. The green Gem leapt upward, climbing up the levels of the block, while her blue companion slid down the walls towards her. Upon reaching one another, the pair embraced, being enveloped in a bright white glow. When the light faded, a large sea-green Gem stood where they had been. As muscular as Spinel and as graceful as Opal, the Gem was most notable for the huge pair of leathery wings emerging from her back.

"Yes! Turquoise had returned once again!" the Gem yelled. She took to the skies, the Horde soldiers' weaponry having little effect on her armored hide. Flying above the soldiers, she flew through the exit and away from the prison block, before looking back. "Should I go back for Rutile?" she asked herself. "No," she responded, "we can't get into the cells. We'll have to come back later. For now, let's just go find the others." With that, she took to the skies above the Fright Zone, beginning her search for her allies.

* * *

Back on Earth, the Crystal Gems came through the temple door into the house. "Steven!" shouted Garnet. The house was empty, save for Lion fast asleep on the living room floor. The Gems split up, looking everywhere for Steven and Connie. As Scorpia was not there either, Garnet was sure her suspicions about the trio had been confirmed. "Look outside, make sure they aren't in town somewhere."

Amethyst ran to the boardwalk to see if Steven had taken Connie and his new friend there. Pearl called Connie's house in case they had gone there. Neither of their searches proved fruitful.

"I called Connie's mother, she says they haven't seen her since she came over here," said Pearl. "She's worried now, and she says she's sending her father over."

Amethyst returned. "No good. Nobody's seen him all day. That fry kid says he saw a scorpion lady, but that was earlier this morning."

"Steven wouldn't have warped them somewhere, would he?" Pearl asked Garnet, turning her head towards the warp pad.

"No, I don't think so," Garnet said. "I was afraid of this. They played us!" She turned towards the slumbering form of Lion. "There's only one other place they could have gone. Follow me." With that, all three Gems entered into Lion's mane.

* * *

Back at the Fright Zone, Glimmer and company reappeared in an alleyway a block or so away from the prison. Everyone surveyed their new surroundings but Glimmer herself, who collapsed into Bow's arms.

"Glimmer!" he said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm-I'm fine, never better," she responded. "Just a bit tired. That was a pretty long teleport, and with so many people…"

"Do you still have some energy left?" Bow asked.

"Yeah, plenty of it. I just need a minute to relax." Glimmer slumped over, Bow bearing most of her weight. "Gimme five minutes…" she murmured.

"You guys? What are we supposed to do now?" asked Rhodonite. "We're deep in enemy territory, and we don't know where Adora is! How are we going to get out of this!?"

"Don't worry," said Lars. "Captain Lars hasn't failed you before, and he doesn't intend to now! All we- What the!?"

Lars was cut off as a large object of some sort began to emerge from his hair. He was forced to the ground from the weight, and Scorpia gingerly stepped out from his head. "'Scuse me, I just gotta get through here real quick. Gotta get these two to the cells! Say, do you know- Hey, what gives? This isn't Hordak's chamber." She turned around, seeing that Lars was no longer in shackles, but instead running free on the streets of the Fright Zone with Bow and Glimmer. "What!? How did you get out? I was- Aw, great, not those two again!"

Rhodonite's attention was drawn to the unconscious form underneath Scorpia's arm. "She's got Steven!" she cried.

"And Connie!" added Lars.

"Okay, I get that you're upset," said Scorpia, "but can't we discuss this like ladies and gentlemen? How about this: let's all go back to the prison block, and you go in willingly so I don't have to sting you?"

Seeing his friends in danger, Lars had dropped all pretense of compromise, putting up his fists. "How do you expect to get past all of us? There's four of us, and one of you! How about this: let Steven and Connie go, so _we_ won't have to hurt _you_!" Rhodonite did her best to look intimidating, while Glimmer was still comatose. Bow wasn't entirely sure what was going on, or where Scorpia had come from, but he nocked an arrow regardless. Despite the odds clearly favoring her, Scorpia took his words to heart.

"Hmm, you got a point there," she said. "Let's see, what should I...HEY YOU GUYS, I FOUND 'EM, THEY'RE OVER HERE!" Scorpia's shout alerted nearby as well as distant Horde soldiers, who rushed over to apprehend the intruders.

"Shoot, I wasn't expecting that!" Lars said. "Everybody run!" The four of them did just that (rather, three, as Bow carried Glimmer) before the troops could arrive. Having scared off the attackers, Scorpia chuckled to herself. "Thought you could intimidate ol' Scorpia, did you?" she said quietly, before heading off to the prison block.

Having put some good distance between themselves and their pursuers, Lars and the group stopped behind a building to catch their breath.

"This isn't good!" Lars said. "She's got Steven! What if they have the other Gems, too!?"

"That's it, we're doomed!" lamented Rhodonite. "Might as well just turn ourselves in, it'll be easier than running!"

"Guys, quit worrying!" said Glimmer, who had gotten most of her energy back. "I told Swift Wind to bring the other princesses if we were gone for more than an hour. They should be here any minute! All we have to do is hold out until the cavalry arrives, and we'll be fine!"

"Speaking of the cavalry, where did Adora run off to?" Bow wondered. "I haven't seen her since we got here. You don't think she got captured, do you?"

"I doubt it," Glimmer said. "At least, I hope she hasn't.

"With how well everything's been going so far," said Rhodonite, "I wouldn't doubt it."

"Come on, Rhodonite, this is no time to give up!" said Lars. "Like Glitter said, all we need to do is- Not again!" Once more, something, or rather, someone, was emerging from Lars' head. Or rather, three someones. Lars was once again forced to the ground as the Crystal Gems materialized, weapons in hand.

"Where'd that overgrown crab get to!?" said Amethyst. "Come on, I'll give these Horde fools a piece of my mind! Maybe two if they ask! Three, tops!"

"Guys, you're here!" cried Lars, picking himself up. "They've got Steven and Connie, probably Padparadscha too!"

"We know," said Garnet. "They tricked us, made us think they were against the Horde. We only just found out they were working with it."

"_We're_ against the Horde!" said Bow. "Don't worry; we'll get Steven back."

Glimmer was staring at the Gems. "How many more of them do you _have_ up there?" she asked.

"Oh, right," said Lars. "Guys, this is Shimmer and Bow. Shimmer, Bow, these are the Crystal Gems. Let's save the detailed intros for later, though, we've got to get moving!"

* * *

"Urgh, I can't believe this!" Catra growled. "Thanks to Scorpia, now I've got to deal with the Rebellion _and_ angry Gems! What else could go wrong today!?"

As if on cue, a familiar figure came into view. Eight feet tall and with shimmering blonde hair, the unmistakable shape of She-Ra rounded the corner. "Catra!" the warrior cried at the sight of her old friend, brandishing her sword.

Initially angry at this new development, Catra's expression of anger turned to one of amusement.

"Hey, Adora."


	11. Science Buddies Redux

Chapter Eleven: Science Buddies Redux

* * *

"This is so exciting!" Entrapta said. She could barely keep still. "I have so much to show you!" The princess hurried around her laboratory, unsure of what to show Peridot first. "So, tell me, what do you know about First Ones tech?"

Peridot was busy looking around the dark room curiously and a bit warily. She turned to face Entrapta when she heard the question. "Honestly? I've never heard of them before. Are you sure they aren't just here in Etheria?"

"No, no, they had to have been in the main universe," Entrapta said. "But I talked to Pearl, and she said she hadn't heard of them, either. Most of the tech here dates back _way_ more than a thousand years, and they're older than that, even. Anyways, I've been studying the First Ones and their tech since I was little. They colonized this planet and turned it into a giant machine, and all of the Runestones are connected and…" Entrapta continued to speak, but Peridot's mind was focused on something she had said.

"Hold on, did you say they colonized this planet?" asked Peridot during a break in Entrapta's speech. "That they turned the whole planet into their tech?" Entrapta nodded. "Huh. That sounds kind of like what Homeworld does. You don't think…" The pair considered for a moment the possibility that the Gems _were_ the First Ones. Their pondering soon turned to laughter.

"Ha, I doubt it," said Entrapta. "Still...hold on, I want to check something! Come on!" Grabbing Peridot by the arm with her hair, Entrapta led the small green Gem to a large room. In the center was an enormous dark red crystal. Peridot could just feel the energy radiating from the gigantic stone. It felt somehow familiar, and then it hit her: this towering hunk of inanimate stone somehow commanded the same reverence of a Diamond. How it could do this when it wasn't alive, she could only guess.

"This is the Black Garnet!" explained Entrapta. "When I heard that there was an entire species of living gemstones with magical powers, my mind immediately thought of the Runestones, especially when I heard your friend was actually named Garnet! To be honest, Hordak probably doesn't want me showing this to people, but I'm sure I can make an exception for my science buddy!"

Rather than ask who Hordak was, another question was on Peridot's mind. "Wait, so, gems here aren't...alive? Then, what do they do?"

"Not much, since they aren't alive," explained Entrapta. "They're just pretty rocks. People trade them for other valuables, or wear them as jewelry." Peridot was a little bit unnerved by this revelation. "Most of them don't even have any magic. However, runestones like this one are the source for the princesses' magical abilities!"

"So, what is it that you wanted to check?" asked Peridot.

"Oh, of course!" Entrapta said. "You'll have to excuse me, I can get a bit worked up once I start talking about the First Ones!"

"No worries, I know how that feels!" replied Peridot.

"Anyway, I wanted to see if there's any connection between Gems and the Runestones, what with the both of you being magically-enhanced crystalline entities. Hold on, I think I've got something for this around here somewhere. Now, where did I leave those data cables?"

While she was searching, a spherical droid walked over to her on its three legs. The robot was carrying a set of cables on its head. It chirped as it reached its master, drawing her attention.

"Aha, there we are! Thanks, Emily!" Entrapta said, picking up the cables. "Oh, right! Peridot, this is my lab assistant, Emily! She's a reprogrammed Horde robot. Say hi, Emily!"

Emily chirped happily and walked over to study Peridot. The Gem couldn't help but be charmed by the round robot. "I used to have some spherical robonoids of my own as well, you know," said Peridot, smiling.

Before too long, Peridot was hooked up to Entrapta's computer. One of the cables the techie had used to 'hack the planet' using the Black Garnet was attached to Peridot's gemstone, sending readings to the computer about its composition, internal workings, and other details Entrapta thought would be relevant.

"Hey, you guys in here?" Scorpia asked, entering the room. "Thought I'd find you in the Black Garnet's chamber. So, what's going on here?"

"I wanted to see if there were any similarities between Gems and Runestones!" Entrapta said.

"Ah, makes sense," Scorpia said. "They _are_ both magical jewels. You know, the ol' Black Garnet here used to belong to my family. They gave it to the Horde when they first showed up here."

"Wait, you gave it to the Horde?" asked Peridot.

Scorpia suddenly realized what she had said. "And then we stole it back!" she said quickly. "Yeah, my family had it, they gave it to the Horde, and now _we_ have it, because we _aren't_ the Horde! Yeah." Scorpia paused to look at her reflection in the Runestone's shadowy surface. "I've always thought I'm connected to it somehow, you know? All the other princesses have their magical powers, but me? I just punch things and sting people. Back when I was younger, I never thought about it much. Too much to worry about as it was. But now, I can't help but feel like I'm missing something…" Scorpia suddenly shook off her moment of somber reflection, returning to her usual bubbly self. "So, how's the operation coming?"

"I almost have something here," said Entrapta. "I've always had doubts about whether or not the Runestones were actually made of their namesakes, but it looks like Peridot here is actually made of peridotite!"

Scorpia stared blankly. "That's a thing?"

"But not just that!" she said. "The lattice structure is similar to a regular peridot, though hers has been altered somehow. It's like someone carved a tiny supercomputer into a gem, and filled it with some kind of magic energy!"

"Wow, all that in such a tiny package!" Scorpia said, looking down at Peridot. "Man, you are a cute little thing." Against the Gem's protests, Scorpia scooped her up. She chuckled to herself. "Heh, your hair looks like a little corn chip!"

"Um, Scorpia? I know you like hugs, but could you refrain from cuddling my test subject until after I'm done testing?" Entrapta said.

"Oh, right, sorry." She dropped Peridot to the ground, who indignantly fixed her ruffled-up hair.

More data began pouring in. "Oh, wow! This is incredible!" Entrapta said. Scorpia looked at the screen over her shoulder. "The energy in Peridot's gem-it's near-identical to the energy in the Black Garnet!"

"So...she has shadow powers?" asked Scorpia.

"No, it's her coding that decides her powers, not the energy," Entrapta explained. "Looking at this, it seems Peridot can create a controlled magnetic field around her person."

To demonstrate, Peridot began levitating a number of tools and scrap metal around herself. "I sure can," she said. "In fact, Steven is the one who showed me how to do this."

Scorpia suddenly turned a little bit paler, averting her eyes. "You know what? Speaking of Steven, I think I'm gonna go." She walked over towards the door. "Good luck to you two, with your tests and experiments and the like!" Before Scorpia could exit the room, she heard what sounded like a struggle going on on the other side of the door. She placed her ear to the wall to better hear what was going on. She heard two voices: one of them was clearly Catra's, and Scorpia was certain that she had heard the other one before. "Wait a minute, isn't that-"

The wall Scorpia was leaning up against suddenly gave way. Something had broken through it with tremendous force, sending Scorpia to the floor, and Entrapta and Peridot ducking for cover.

"It wasn't enough for the Horde to control Etheria, but you had to take over other worlds, too?" said Adora. She was pointing her massive sword at Catra, who had nimbly dodged the beam it had fired.

"No, of course not!" Catra explained mockingly. "We are but humble refugees from the war, and we needed their help to return to our home!" Her voice switched from mocking sweetness to her traditional sourness. "It's not our fault they were so willing to help."

"What?" Peridot said quietly. "Entrapta, what's going on?"

"Shh! She might hear us!" she replied.

Adora and Catra continued to clash. Even though Catra was much smaller and had no weapon, she was much more nimble than She-Ra. In spite of this, she was bound to slip us eventually, and Adora knew it. Her giant sword transformed into a whip, which was used to bind Catra. Adora slammed her feline foe up against the Black Garnet. "What did you do with Steven?"

Scorpia was still dazed from Adora's attack, but stood up nonetheless. "Nah, Steven's fine," she said woozily. "He's just relaxing in the prison block, he'll be fine."

"Entrapta?" Peridot said. But the purple-haired scientist wasn't listening.

"Entrapta! Don't just sit there, do something!" Catra shouted.

"Uh, alright, okay, let's see what I can find," Entrapta said, digging through a bin of assorted First Ones artifacts. "No, not this one...Eh, that's not gonna work...What? Why's this photo of Hordak in here?...Nah, I'm saving this one for a special occasion...Aha! This should work!" Holding a red triangular object, Entrapta lifted it over to her ally with her hair. "Catra, here! Touch her sword with this!"

Catra did so. The result was a cluster of red vine-like growths appearing on Adora's sword. She stood still, before looking towards Catra with blood-red eyes. A twisted smile appeared on her face as she walked towards her friend-turned-enemy.

"Uh, Entrapta? What exactly did that thing do?" Catra said, backing away nervously.

"That wasn't what it did last time!" Entrapta cried. "Last time it made her smaller and...weird!"

Letting out a roar, Adora charged towards Catra, who just barely avoided being cleaved in half. "This didn't help at all!" shouted Catra. "This just made things somehow worse!" Adora continued down the warpath after Catra, while Scorpia tried to restrain her.

"Entrapta, have you been with the Horde this whole time!?" Peridot shouted. Adora turned towards the two, but Entrapta pulled Peridot down behind the computer before she saw them.

"Yes, we're with the Horde," Entrapta admitted. "Catra didn't want us to tell you so you wouldn't try to stop the Horde when they invaded Earth. But that's all behind us now." The battle between Adora, Catra, and Scorpia had proceeded out of the chamber and down the hallways, with Adora destroying everything in her wake."

"You...you mean you lied to me?" asked Peridot.

"Yes, we did," Entrapta said bluntly. "Catra told us to, and she's the boss. Aside from Hordak." Entrapta gasped, her face lighting up. "You should meet Hordak! You'll like him, he's a scientist like us! He actually helped me build the first portal." She gasped again. "All three of us could be science buddies!"

"You used us," Peridot said softly. "Before I left Homeworld, I was trying to destroy the Earth. Now you want to use me to do it again!"

"Peridot, it's not like that!" Entrapta said. "_I_ don't want to destroy the Earth _or_ conquer it. The Horde does. All I want is to learn more about First Ones tech. And we can do that together now!"

"But you're _with_ the Horde!" Peridot yelled backing away. "And the Horde wants to take over the Earth!"

"What's so wrong about that?" asked Entrapta. "How would things be any different?"

Peridot, upset by her new friend's thoughts on this issue, turned to run. Emily tried to block her way, but Peridot simply levitated her over her head.

"Peridot, wait!" cried Entrapta. "Peridot!" She caught the green Gem in her hair, who struggled to get free. "W-what about the science buddies? Aren't we friends?"

Peridot continued to struggle. "I...I don't want to be science buddies with you!"

Shocked, Entrapta dropped the small Gem to the floor, where she ran out of the room without so much as a backwards glance. Slowly, Entrapta lowered herself to the floor. Emily walked up to her master, sensing her distress. "But...I thought...I thought I was your friend…"


	12. Prison Break Redux

Chapter Twelve: Prison Break Redux

* * *

In the Horde prison, Connie awoke, massaging her head. "Ugh...what happened?" She studied her surroundings, before remembering what had happened back at Steven's house. Someone had called out for Steven, and then she felt something stab her in the arm. Next thing she knew, she was here, in some kind of prison cell.

"Connie!" came Steven's voice from nearby. "Connie, where are you?" He sounded worried.

"Steven! I'm over here," she said. She could hear a sigh of relief from him. Scorpia had at least been kind enough to put them in adjacent cells. "I don't really know where 'here' is, though. Who was it you were talking to?"

"It was Padparadscha," Steven responded. "Lars must have sent her through Lion."

"So he finished his secret mission, then? How did we end up here?"

"There wasn't a secret mission," said Steven glumly. "They tricked us. The three of them-they were with the Horde this whole time."

"Oh." Connie didn't say anything else. She could tell Steven was taking this betrayal pretty hard.

After a while, Connie heard a shock followed by Steven crying out. "Steven! What was that!? Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm fine," he said quietly. "I was trying to get out."

"I don't think these fields are the same ones the Gems use," Connie said. "They're supposed to keep in organic life, like us."

Another shock. "Again?" asked Connie.

"Well, I can't just do nothing!" cried Steven. "Lars and the others are in danger, and for all we know the Gems have no idea we're here. We have to get out of here somehow."

"Fair point, but there's got to be a better way than just pushing through the doors!" Connie said. "Look around in your cell, see if there's anything that can help you bust out. Like a file, or a spoon, or-"

Connie heard a low hum coming from Steven's cell. It was followed by the sound of more shocks, and noises of exertion from Steven. He had summoned his shield, and was trying to push through the barrier.

"Steven, seriously, you can't just brute force your way through this!" Connie said. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"Connie, I can't see any other way out of this," he countered. "If we don't do anything, the Horde will...most likely do something bad."

Sighing, Connie relented. When Steven wanted to be the hero, there was no stopping him. "Just try to pace yourself," she said.

Steven tried to push through the barrier with his shield several more times, being met with failure each time. The energy fields used seemed to come from all four directions at once, making blocking them impossible. Even still, he pushed forward as hard as he could, to little success.

"I can do this," he said, panting. "I've almost got it, I just need a new approach."

"Steven, don't overexert yourself," said Connie. "We don't even know what the Horde is doing. We can afford to wait for a bit."

"No we can't!" said Steven. "It's my fault we're in here! My fault I wasn't suspicious of the Horde from the beginning. Now I'm going to get us out."

He tried to focus; on his friends, his family, anything that brightened his spirits. It was hard to do, considering the circumstances, but if anyone could stay positive in their darkest moment, it was Steven. A pink bubble enveloped him, borne of his happy thoughts. With this newfound protection, Steven tried to push through the barrier once again. Energy crackled and sparked as he struggled.

"Steven! You're doing it!" cried Connie. She could see him emerging from his cell from within her own. After a minute or two of pure effort, Steven finally burst through the barrier like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. The bubble dissolved as Steven caught his breath.

"Okay…" he said, panting. "Now I'm gonna rescue you. Move to the side." Steven re-summoned his bubble shield and began pushing his way into Connie's cell.

"Steven, remember what I said about overexerting yourself!" said Connie, concerned. He was pushing himself too hard.

"I can...do this!" he said as he struggled. "I've...almost...got it!" Sure enough, he soon broke through this barrier as well, collapsing in a heap at Connie's feet.

"Steven!" she shouted, rushing to his side. "That's it, you're going to take a break now."

Steven's bubble reappeared. "I'll take a break when we get back home, away from this horrible place," he said softly. "The longer we stay here, the more time the Horde has to do whatever they want to Earth, because of me."

Once again, Connie decided not to argue further. At least with the both of them in the bubble, they could share the strain. "Okay then, if you insist. On three. Ready? One...two...three!"

The both of them pushed through this barrier together. It took less time and effort with them working together, but it was nonetheless taxing. Once they were through, the bubble vanished once more.

"Okay. We're out. So, no what do we do?" asked Connie.

"We have to go find Lars," Steven responded. "Once Peridot gets the portal working, we'll find it, and then we can all get home."

"So...how exactly do you suppose we do that?" said Connie. "I doubt we can just ask somebody where Lars is."

"Then we'll just have to look until we find him," said Steven. "Let's go!"

Steven walked out towards what he assumed was an exit, not knowing which way to go, with Connie following behind him. Before long, something caught his eye.

"Look! In there!" he said. Inside one of the cells was a red gemstone shaped like the letter 'Y'. "It's Rutile! We have to help her!"

"Steven, don't tell me you're going to-"

But Steven had already summoned his bubble, pushing into the cell with all of his strength. "Steven, no!" said Connie. "You're going to get stuck in there!"

Steven now sat within the cell, panting. "I'll be fine," he said. He picked up Rutile's gem, placing it in his pocket. "I don't want to bubble her, or I might send her back to the Temple by accident." For one final time, Steven summoned his bubble, pushing through the barrier of the prison cell. Upon exiting, he collapsed to the floor.

"Okay, no more doing that, at least for a while," Connie said, helping Steven up. He was unable to stand on his own. "Here, I'll hold on to Rutile for now."

"Connie...what do we do now?" Steven asked weakly.

"You mean for all your heroics, you didn't have a plan?" Connie said with a slight grin.

"Well, you always were the smart one," Steven chuckled. "If anyone can come up with a plan right now, it's you."

"I suppose I can think of something," she said. "Okay, let's see...we don't know where anything is in this place, we're unequipped to deal with anything, and we know for a fact we're in enemy territory. I say we head for higher ground and see if we can spot anything that looks important."

"Sounds like a good plan!" said Steven.

Connie shrugged. "Eh...it isn't. But we don't really have any other options right now. Can you walk?"

"Not without help," Steven said.

"Alright then," said Connie, bracing Steven against her. "Let's go."

* * *

Scorpia returned to the Black Garnet's chamber, panting heavily. "Okay...that...was an ordeal. What did you _do_ to her, anyway?" Entrapta had her back turned, and her mask was down. "Hey, where'd your little friend go?"

"She left," Entrapta said quietly.

"Is she coming back, or…?" Entrapta didn't respond. "Well, Adora's still running around out there somewhere, but we gave her the slip. It wasn't easy, either. She sliced my stinger clean off!" Scorpia held up her tail, the tip indeed having been severed.

Entrapta turned around, concerned. "She cut your stinger off!?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Scorpia said. "It'll grow back the next time I molt. Right now, we have to find a way to deal with a giant rampaging princess tearing up the Fright Zone!"

"Or, we could leave her like that," came the voice of Catra. Scorpia and Entrapta turned to face her.

"Leave her like that?" said Scorpia. "Why would we do that?"

"Because, the other princesses are here," said Catra. "If she stays like this, she'll take them out for us. All we have to do is sit back and watch!"

"It has been a pretty hectic day," said Scorpia. "I could use a break from the fighting. Actually, what made Adora go bonkers like that in the first place?"

"It was this," said Entrapta, holding up the First Ones data disk. "Something about this disk has a corrupting effect on the She-Ra. Last time it happened, destroying the machine caused the corruption to dissipate."

"Well, now we have a new mission," said Catra. She grabbed the disk, causing Entrapta to reach for it. "All we have to do is keep this disk out of the princesses' hands, and Adora will bring them all to their knees herself...just like she was supposed to do in the first place." Catra tossed the disk over her shoulder back to Entrapta. "Make sure nothing happens to it. Right now, I've got to make sure everything goes perfectly."


	13. Under Fire

Chapter Thirteen: Under Fire

* * *

Standing on a balcony overlooking the Fright Zone, Steven clung to the railing. He was slowly but surely regaining his strength after forcing his way out of and into multiple prison cells. Connie stood nearby, looking for any kind of landmark that the two could use to orient themselves. As she had expected, nothing helped.

Connie sighed. "I think we need a new plan. This whole place is nothing but ominous buildings and foreboding clouds!"

Steven pulled himself away from the handrail. "I think the Horde is going for a theme," he quipped.

"Yeah," said Connie, smiling a small bit. "You know, the Horde is kind of like Homeworld's opposite."

"How's that?" asked Steven.

"Well, they're both giant evil armies," Connie said, "but Gems seem to be more attuned to light, and the Horde looks more shadowy, for lack of a better word."

"I can see it," said Steven. "Homeworld did kind of seem like a much brighter version of this place. Much bigger, though. Now that I think about it, I don't really know much about the Horde…"

"What's to know?" said Connie. "We know they're evil conquerors, and that's usually enough."

Steven didn't say anything, pondering how this statement did and didn't apply to the Homeworld Gems. The Horde seemed like Homeworld in many ways, and what if one of them was its people? So many of the Gems working for Homeworld that Steven had met hadn't been evil, only products of circumstance. What if the Horde was the same way? He didn't quite feel this way about Catra, but just about everyone else could easily be good deep down.

Steven's contemplation was interrupted by an explosion in the distance. "Something's going on down there!" he said.

Connie leaned over the railing to get a better look. "I think there's _tanks_ down there. And robots, it looks like.

"The Horde has _tanks_? And _Robots_!?" Steven said.

"Something tells me these guys are a bit more forwards than the Gems," said Connie. "At least when it comes to conquering things."

Steven's attention was momentarily drawn skyward, where he saw something, or rather, someone, flying above the conflict. "Look up there! Is that...a Gem?"

"It looks like one," said Connie. "Of course, we _are_ on another planet, so it could be a native alien. I would have believed you if you told me Scorpia was a Gem."

"I think she is a Gem," Steven said. He began waving his arms to get her attention. "Hey! Up there! We're down here!"

"Steven, what are you doing!?" cried Connie. "We don't know who she is, she might be with the Horde!"

But for better or for worse, the Gem had already seen Steven calling her. Fortunately for the two of them, it was for the better, as this Gem was Turquoise.

"Steven! And What's-Her-Name!" she said excitedly. "You picked a perfect time to show up!"

"Hi...you…" said Steven. "I'm sorry, but have we met?"

"Kind of," the fusion replied. "My name is Turquoise, one-third or so of Fluorite. We were separated when we got here."

"And how exactly did you get here?" asked Connie.

"Long story short, there is a man named Hordak. He leads the Horde, and want to open portals so he can conquer other worlds."

"Where's everyone else?" Steven asked.

"At the source of the combat," Turquoise said. "I shall take you to them!" Turquoise placed Steven and Connie under her arms, flying them down to the battle.

* * *

Down on the ground, the Crystal Gems, along with Bow, Glimmer, and Lars fought off countless Horde soldiers. Rhodonite wasn't much of a fighter, and as such hung back so as not to get in their way. At first, they were winning. The Horde had never fought Gems before, and thus were unprepared to face opponents such as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Once they rolled out the heavy artillery, however, the fight began to shift in their favor. Overwhelmed by the tanks and robots, the group was slowly being pushed back.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" said Garnet. "Sooner or later one of us is going to get careless, and that will be that!"

"Maybe _you_ can't" said Amethyst, slicing through a tank's cannon with her whip. "I could do this all day!"

Pearl disarmed a Horde soldier, slamming them into one of their fellows. "Garnet's right, there's too many of them! We have to retreat!"

"We can't!" exclaimed Lars. "Not without Steven and Connie!"

Just then, Rhodonite saw a figure descending towards them. "Look, up there!"

Turquoise nimbly dodged blaster fire from the tanks and robots before gently setting the pair down by the Gems. "I think these two belong to you!" she said.

"Steven!" all three Gems shouted, rushing over to them. Turquoise blocked incoming fire with her wings.

Steven, Connie, the Crystal Gems shared a group hug. "Guys!" said Steven. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!"

"Probably not as glad as we are to see you!" joked Garnet.

"Are you okay?" asked Pearl. "Are you hurt? They didn't hurt you, did they!?"

"Don't worry, we're fine!" Connie said. Lars and Rhodonite hurried over to join in the group hug.

Steven handed Rutile's gemstone to Rhodonite. "And I think _this_ belongs to you!"

"Not to break up such a touching reunion, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold!" said Turquoise.

In a flash of pink, Glimmer appeared. "I'll get these two to safety, you guys get ready to run!"

Steven noticed the diamond-shaped jewel on her chest, coupled with her abilities. "Are you a Gem, too?" he asked.

"I certainly am, now let's go!" she said. Grabbing hold of them, all three were warped out of harm's way. The other Gems and Lars split off, and Turquoise flew upwards.

When they reappeared, Glimmer asked, "So, where is this 'Steven' I've heard so much about?" Steven raised his hand. "Wait..._you're_ Steven!?"

"What's the matter?" asked Connie.

"I guess I just pictured you a but...differently," she said. "You are a great hero, right?"

"Hang on," said Steven. "Just so we're clear, you all are the good guys, right? The _real_ good guys?"

"Not just the good guys, we're the best guys!" said Bow. "You're good guys too, right?"

"That we are," said Steven. "I'm Steven, and this is Connie. You seem to have already met the Crystal Gems."

"Wait, _you're_ Steven?" said Bow. "Huh, I pictured you a lot differently."

"That's what I said!" exclaimed Glimmer. "I guess it doesn't matter, if he is a hero. Speaking of heroes, where's Adora?"

Lars barely avoided being stunned by a Horde soldier, stunning them in turn. "I haven't seen her at all! Are you sure she wasn't captured?"

"I don't suppose you saw a giant woman on your way over here, did you?" asked Glimmer. "Blonde, about this tall, carried a big sword?" Steven's eyes lit up at 'giant woman,' but he and Connie had seen no such person.

"Speaking of big swords…" said Pearl. A shape began to emerge from her gemstone: an enormous pink sword, with a rose emblem at the hilt. She sword was almost as big as Connie, whom she handed it to. "...I figured you might want this!"

Connie brandished the weapon. "You really think ahead, don't you!" she said.

"Uh, guys?" said Bow. "I don't think a sword is going to help us now…" As many as seven tanks surrounded the heroes, their cannons aiming to obliterate them. Even more robots and soldiers stood waiting to take them down as well.

Steven readied his shield. "Only thing we can do now is fight," he said.

"And lose?" asked Rhodonite.

"We might lose," admitted Steven. "But we might not! Only one way to find out!"

The group readied each of their weapons, preparing to at least go out swinging if they had to go down. The Horde readied their weapons as well, knowing that their victory was inevitable. Before the following obliteration could occur, an odd mist permeated the battlefield. Both sides were perplexed, not knowing where it had come from. Glimmer, however, but two and two together upon noticing how cold the mist was. Everyone else put two and two together as well when several gigantic icicles sprung up out of the ground, blocking the tanks' lines of fire.

"Did somebody call the cavalry?" Swift Wind called from above. Vines wrapped themselves around the Horde's tanks, disabling them. Likewise, the robots were swept away by a torrent of water from the sewers below.

"Maybe we _will_ win after all!" said Rhodonite. "Hey, guys! The princesses are here!"

"Yeah we are!" Mermista rode down towards the group on a stream of water, wielding her trident.

Frosta rode in behind her on a wave of ice. "A little horse told us you could use some backup!"

"Yes, he did!" Swift Wind said, landing amongst them. "It was me, by the way. She-Ra's mighty steed! You may thank me later."

"Woah, you mean that She-Ra has an alicorn?" said Connie in amazement.

"Ali-what? Whose child is this?" Swift Wind asked.

"No time! The Horde grows stronger as we speak!" said Perfuma, carried in by vines. She pointed off into the distance, where something evidently very big was approaching, judging by the destruction it was causing. More Horde soldiers ran towards them as well.

"Crystal Gems! Prepare for battle! Again!" shouted Garnet. The Gems readied their weapons once more.

Alright, girls-and Bow-let's show 'em what we're made of!" said Glimmer. She, the princesses, Bow, and Swift Wind all readied their weapons and powers.

But rather than attack them, the Horde soldiers ran straight past them. Everyone looked around, confused.

"So, what exactly happened?" asked Frosta. "Are we really that intimidating? Wouldn't it make more sense to run _away_ from us?"

"It would," Bow said, "unless they were running away from that."

The noise everyone assumed had been coming from some type of Horde weapon grew closer. Whatever it was, it seemed to be destroying everyone and everything in its wake. As it got closer to the group, they saw that it had a very familiar build. Smoke cleared, revealing long blonde hair, a giant sword, and very angry red eyes.

"Is that…?" said Perfuma.

"Adora?" said Glimmer.

It was Adora, but not as they had known her. Red tendrils emerged from the miniature Runestone on her sword, which seemed to have corrupted her. She walked slowly to them, wearing an expression of malicious glee.

"Adora, is that you?" asked Glimmer. Her former friend responded by charging at the group with her sword raised, laughing insanely.

Not entirely sure what was wrong with her, Perfuma summoned several vines to restrain Adora. The warrior merely slashed through them with her sword, never even averting her gaze on her targets.

She only began to slow down when ice started to crystallize on the edges of her form. Fighting through the freezing as best as she could, Frosta had soon trapped her from the neck down in a hunk of ice.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Swift Wind. "It looks like the Horde did something to her."

Glimmer thought for a moment. "Bow, remember back at Entrapta's castle? The First Ones data disk turned her all loopy."

"You think this is something similar?" he asked.

"Before she turned back from She-Ra, something like this happened," Glimmer explained. "If Entrapta really is with the Horde, she must have done the same thing."

The theorizing was cut short by the sound of ice shattering. Adora broke free from her prison, charging towards the heroes. Perfuma was the closest, and it seemed she would fall victim to her berserk friend. She tried to shield herself, but Adora's blade was met by another like it in midair.

"Why don't you fight somebody your own size?" said Stevonnie.

* * *

In another part of the Fright Zone, Peridot did her best to avoid being spotted by any Horde Soldiers. They seemed to be panicking about something, and she overheard talk about a 'princess' loose in the Fright Zone. Either way, they did not seem to be looking for her, but she didn't want to risk being seen.

Peridot snuck down a hallway, avoiding a pair of soldiers who had run by. She entered one room, expecting it to be an exit, but it turned out to be an armory of some sort. She scanned the weapons and equipment within, and was about to leave, but a familiar shape caught her eyes. A Gem destabilizer was among the Stun Batons. Peridot was unsure of where it had come from, but she decided it could come in handy.

"Hey! Who are you!? What are you doing in here?" a voice said. Several Horde soldiers had gathered before her, blocking the exit.

"Uh…" Peridot stammered. She stood still for a moment, before thrusting the destabilizer at the soldier's leg with a shout of "Ha!" Despite her efforts, absolutely nothing happened.

"Ah, that must be why they call it a 'Gem' destabilizer..." she said sheepishly.

Before the soldiers could apprehend her, something attacked them from behind. One was thrown into the wall, while the other two were thrown into each other. "Whoo," said the assailant, "there are a _lot_ of these guys!" She was a green Gem, muscular, and with four arms, two of which supported her weight.

"Wow thanks for saving me," said Peridot, "but should I know who you are?"

"The name's Bowenite," the Gem said. "I take it you're Peridot?"

"I am indeed!" Peridot replied. "You must be one of the off-colors that Steven mentioned."

"Yup! Now, hows about we get out of here and go find the rest of the crew?"

"Best idea I've heard all day!" responded Peridot.


	14. Corrupted

Chapter Fourteen: Corrupted

* * *

"What the!?" Glimmer shouted. She couldn't believe what she was seeing: where Steven and his friend once stood, there was now a large woman (at least, she thought they were a woman) almost twice her component parts' heights. It was like the two of them had merged into a single being, who had just blocked Adora's sword strike.

"Stevonnie!" cried Pearl, who was apparently familiar with this occurrence. The person, who's name Glimmer assumed to be 'Stevonnie,' then pushed the corrupted Adora back, leaving her open to be restrained by Perfuma's vines. She struggled, but was unable to break free.

Swift Wind flew over to her. "Would anyone care to explain to me what exactly is going on?" he said. "She looks like She-Ra, but it's like she completely lost her mind!"

"I blame Catra," said Mermista dryly. "We all knew it would come to this eventually."

"No, we've seen this before," said Bow. "I think...I think First Ones tech did this. And the only one we know who can use First Ones tech is…"

"Entrapta," finished Perfuma. "She really is alive."

"So, how do we fix her?" asked Amethyst.

"Last time, Entrapta had a First Ones data disc," Bow explained. "It made all of her robots turn against us, and it did something like this to Adora. When we destroyed the machine causing it, she went back to normal."

"So we've got to find the disc, and destroy it," said Garnet. "Where do we find this Entrapta?"

"I'm sorry, but is everyone going to glance over the fact that those two just became a big person!?" Glimmer said.

"Oh, right, this," said Stevonnie. "It's called fusion. It's a Gem thing. Only, Steven can fuse with other humans because he's half human. Make sense?"

Glimmer threw up her hands. "I guess. We can go into more detail later, right now we should work on fixing Adora." Said girl was still attempting to break free from Perfuma's vines.

Swift Wind was trying to get Adora to look at him. "Adora, can you hear me? It's me, Swift Wind, your trusty steed! You remember me, right?"

"His name it 'Swift Wind?'" said Stevonnie. "I mean, come on! That's totally a pony-sounding name, Right?"

"Okay, seriously, _what is she talking about_?" said Swift Wind.

WIth everyone discussing what to do next, nobody noticed that Adora seemed to have stopped struggling. Their focus was drawn back to her when her sword suddenly sprouted from her leafy cocoon, stopping just in front of Perfuma's nose. The princess stumbled backwards, startled. Rightfully so. Adora tore her way through the vines with ease, making her way towards the rest of the group. Once again, Stevonnie was able to block her strike, but Adora was braced this time. The corrupted warrior swung again and again, her sword bouncing off of Stevonnie's shield. Still, each impact was able to push them back a few feet.

Frosta tried to encase Adora in ice again, but she was wise to the princess' tricks. She deflected the icy projectile with a swing of her sword. Mermista tried to follow up with a wave of water, but She-Ra stood firm, the water not pushing her an inch. She charged Mermista. The princess tried to block with her trident, but it was knocked to the ground by Adora's sword. Before her second swing could connect, Glimmer teleported in, and warped Mermista to safety.

"This isn't working!" Bow said. "We've got to find that disc. She-Ra's too strong for us to take down without hurting her."

Having missed Mermista, Adora had chosen to go after Garnet instead, the latter blocking her sword with her gauntlets. "If we work together, we should be able to-" The fusion was cut off as Adora delivered a punch to her chest, which sent her flying backwards.

With a battle cry, Amethyst leapt upwards to strike Adora with her whip. The warrior was undeterred, slicing through the Quartz's whip before it could make contact. She held up a hand to catch Amethyst as she fell towards her, only prevented from doing so when a net arrow ensnared her. Amethyst got to her feet, getting some distance between herself and he berserk She-Ra.

"Hey, guys?" said Glimmer. "We've got some company…" Several Horde robots were approaching, evidently having been sent to deal with Adora. A flurry of beams were fired in her general direction; the robots seemed just as keen on attacking Adora's friends as they were on attacking Adora herself. Everyone scattered except Adora herself, who was undeterred by the barrage. In a single bound, she leapt to the rooftops to dismantle her new attackers.

"We need a new plan," said Garnet. "Stevonnie, you stay here, and help the princesses deal with Adora. Make sure she doesn't get hurt." Stevonnie nodded.

A leg from one of the robots landed near them, its owner having been cleaved in half by the Sword of Protection. "I don't think she's in any danger," said Bow, "but it can't hurt to make sure."

"Crystal Gems, we'll go look for this disc."

"I'll go with you," said Glimmer. "I've seen it before, so I know what we're looking for."

"I'm coming, too," said Rhodonite. "We still don't know where Padparadscha or Bowenite are. We have to find them!"

"Rhodonite's right," said Lars. "We won't find them just standing around here. Besides, I've been through this place before, so we know our way around. Well, sort of. Okay, not really, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"That's not exactly reassuring," said Pearl. "Are you sure you wouldn't be better off here?"

Off in the distance, Adora threw another bot into the air, which landed just next to the group. "Yeah, I think we'd be safer somewhere else," Lars said.

"Well, we won't find the disc thingy around here," said Amethyst. "Any ideas where it could be?"

The three Gems set off, followed by Glimmer, Lars, and Rhodonite. "If it's anywhere in this place, I'd bet Catra has it," Glimmer said. "All we have to do find her, and it's most likely nearby."

"That doesn't seem like much of a problem," Pearl said. "I think that we could take her!"

"You'd be surprised," Glimmer said.

Back with the others, Stevonnie watched as Adora cut through wave after wave of robots. "So, what exactly are we supposed to protect her from?" they asked. "She seems to have this locked down."

Just then, a deep booming sound echoed throughout the Fright Zone. Followed by another, then another and another. They were footsteps, and whatever they belonged to must have been massive.

"I...don't like the sound of that," Bow said.

"Uh, you guys don't know any sort of giant woman princesses, do you?" asked Stevonnie.

"Not that I know of," said Perfuma. "...Do we?"

The source of the noises then revealed itself: rising from beyond the rooftops, an enormous robot appeared. Spherical like the others, it had four legs instead of three, and a pair of cannons emerging from its 'shoulders' beside its 'head.'

"Wuh-oh," Frosta said. "That's a big bot."

The giant machine scanned its surroundings. It showed little interest in Bow and the others, but Adora was a different story. The robot aimed its laser cannons at her, both glowing with orange energy.

"Adora, look out!" shouted Perfuma. But Adora either didn't hear her or didn't care in her corrupted state.

Taking action, Stevonnie leapt towards Adora, clearing the rooftops with the aid of Steven's floating powers. They got close enough to Adora to shield her with their bubble, summoning it just as the robot fired. The two of them were launched into the distance by the force of the impact, the bubble coming to a rest several blocks away.

Stevonnie stood up as the bubble dissipated. "Okay, I think we're safe. I don't see any more robots, and-"

They were just barely able to summon their shield as Adora swung at them, the impact knocking them off balance. Stevonnie was able to crouch underneath the second swing, responding with a kick. Their heel collided with Adora's face, who was knocked backwards. Slowly, Adora turned her head back to face Stevonnie. A maniacal grin was plastered over her face.

"Uh, sorry about that," said Stevonnie. "No hard feelings, right?"

Meanwhile, the robots, their target having vanished from sight, turned to the next best thing: the princesses and their allies. Loud hums filled the air as they warmed up their beams.

Frosta was just barely able to erect a defensive ice barrier before the group was annihilated. It was only able to hold off a few beams, so everyone took cover elsewhere before it broke completely.

"What are we supposed to do now!?" asked Mermista. "Swift Wind, can you fly up there and do something?"

"Lady, I'm a horse!" Swift Wind shouted. "What do you want me to do, go up there and _buck_ it to death?"

"Unless you have any better options!"

"Guys, guys, don't worry!" said Bow. "We're the Princess Alliance! We've taken down way worse than that thing! Even if we don't have Adora or Glimmer, the five of us are strong enough to face down anything the Horde can throw at us! Now who's with me!?"

The wall of ice gave way. The air filled with particles from the broken barrier, and from the mist came five warriors, prepared to do battle with their foe.

"All right, then," said Bow, nocking an arrow. "Here goes nothing!"


	15. Under Fire Redux

Chapter Fifteen: Under Fire Redux

* * *

Before long, the Crystal Gems arrived in a room containing a large reddish Runestone that seethed with a dark energy. Looking around, it seemed that, despite the apparent importance of the chamber and what was contained in it, there were no guards. There weren't even any personnel around to raise an alarm.

"I, uh, don't remember seeing this place," Lars said. "Are you sure this is where we'll find that disk thing?"

"No," Glimmer admitted, "but I figure this is the best place to start looking. I just hope we don't run into Shadow Weaver."

Rhodonite looked around nervously. "That name doesn't sound too friendly. Is Shadow Weaver around here somewhere?"

Glimmer thought about this. "Actually, I haven't seen her since we got here. Best to be alert, just in case."

"Well, Shadow Weaver or no, the sooner we can find that disk, the sooner we can get home," Pearl said. "Garnet, can you see anywhere it could be?"

Garnet's visor shone as she peered into the future, or at least one of many potential futures. What she saw was apparently concerning, as she gasped, looking up. "Get down!" she shouted, shielding Lars from a flurry of green blasts of energy that rained onto the Gems from all angles.

Glimmer teleported in the nick of time, avoiding the brunt of this unexpected assault. Lars was shielded by Garnet, and Rhodonite was far enough away from the main group so as to avoid being hit. The Crystal Gems themselves, however, were forced to the ground by these beams.

Numerous Horde soldiers emerged from the shadows, aiming their stun batons at the Gems. Among them was Catra, flanked by the other members of the 'Super Pal Trio.' "That was easier than I expected," she said with a chuckle. "And here I thought these 'great heroes' would put up a bit more of a fight!"

"Not you again!" growled Glimmer. She teleported towards Catra, but before she could deliver a sparkle-enhanced blow to her, she was yanked out of the air and thrown against the wall by Rogelio.

Catra grinned. "Watch yourself, sparkles." She turned to face the Crystal Gems. "For that matter, this whole thing has been much easier than I could have hoped for! I mean, you guys totally bought our whole refugee bit! It's like you just handed Earth to us!"

Lars stood up from behind Garnet. "Don't think it's over just yet, you fiend!" he said, doing his best 'captain pose,' as he called it. He tried to run towards Catra, but was halted in his tracks when Lonnie held a staff just in front of his face.

Catra laughed. "Is being taken out this easily an Earth thing, or are you all just the Kyles of your dimension?" Off to the side, Kyle groaned. "No, seriously, how did a bunch of weak little misfits like you ever get to be known as great heroes?"

Struggling a bit, Pearl got to her feet. "Because we _are_ great heroes," she said. She tried to draw her spear, but a shock from Catra's stun baton brought her to her knees once more.

"I'll give the Princess Alliance this, at least they could put up a decent fight," Catra said darkly. She crouched down, lifting Pearl's head up to her own. "Even still, they're no match for Adora. With her on a rampage like that, she's going to tear them apart. And that includes your precious little Steven."

"Urgh...no…" Pearl tried to say.

"I'm afraid so," Catra said. "How does it feel, knowing there's nothing you can do to save him?" She leaned in closer. "It hurts, doesn't it? Steven is going to die, and it's all your fault."

Catra was caught off-guard when something suddenly wrapped itself around her ankle. Looking down, she saw the object in question was a black cord of some kind, which her eyes followed into the hands of Amethyst.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's yours," said the purple Gem with a scowl. She pulled on her whip, sending Catra careening to the floor.

In the resulting confusion, Glimmer teleported behind Rogelio, blinding the Horde soldiers with a burst of glitter. Likewise, Lars slipped out from Lonnie's guard, stumbling towards Rhodonite. Rogelio attempted to strike Glimmer, who teleported out of the way of his punches, and Lonnie gave chase after Lars.

Several of the Horde soldiers fired randomly into the commotion, unable to see from Glimmer's light. One of these stray shots almost hit Catra. "Watch it, you idiots!" she hissed, jumping to her feet.

Seeing an opportunity. Amethyst swung her whip in the direction of said soldiers. They were thrown against the wall, though Entrapta had crouched out of the whip's reach.

Having shaken off the batons' effects, Garnet summoned her gauntlets. She leapt into the air, intent on bringing her fists down on Catra. Her punch was instead intercepted by another red fist."

"Nuh-uh, I don't think so," said Scorpia. She proceeded to punch Garnet hard enough to send the fusion to the other side of the room, running after her.

Catra looked around at the chaos around her. Her soldiers were out cold. Amethyst was facing Entrapta. Garnet was facing Scorpia. And Pearl, she figured, was facing her. She turned around to see Pearl, facing her with her spear out, fully prepared to engage. She fired a blast of energy at the Gem, but Pearl parried with her spear.

Catra dropped her stun baton, readying her claws. "Alright, I guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the Bow and the Princess Alliance were having little luck handling the robots. No matter how many trick arrows they fired, water or ice they threw at it, or vines they covered it with, none of their attacks seemed to do anything other than distract it.

"Nothing's working!" shouted Frosta. "I think we're just making it angry!"

"It's a robot, robots don't have feelings!" replied Swift Wind. An energy blast nearly taking his wing off convinced him to reconsider. "Woah! Okay, maybe it is a bit annoyed…"

The robot was on a rampage. It clearly didn't care about collateral damage, smashing and shooting buildings just as eagerly as the princesses. Even the smaller Horde bots weren't safe from its wrath, with many of them getting caught in the crossfire, or being stomped on by their larger fellow.

"Last time we fought one of these things, it went a lot better," Bow said. "This one must have been upgraded. I think it's got better armor."

"Don't you have any armor-piercing arrows in there?" asked Mermista.

"I did, but those didn't work either!" Bow responded. "Right now, our best option it to hold it off until She-Ra's back to normal."

The giant robot fired both cannons at once, colliding with an ice barrier made my Frosta. "I'm not sure how much longer I can do that!" the young princess said.

Turquoise wasn't having much luck with the robot, either. She dive-bombed it a few times, but she couldn't get close enough to its weak points without risking taking fire. She was about to attempt it anyway, when she saw a vaguely familiar shape approaching. Further inspection revealed it to be a Gem. Two Gems, in fact: both green, the larger four-armed one carried the smaller one on her back. She knew the smaller one as a Peridot, but she would recognize her sweetheart(s) anywhere.

"Bowenite!" she called out, descending to the ground. Meanwhile, the robot was preparing to fire at the group once again.

Frosta was exhausted, her powers nearly used up. The others were bracing themselves behind her icy barrier, which threatened to give way from one more blast. "Hold on," she said, "one more of those and i'm done."

"Any ideas?" Mermista asked.

"I can try to fly someone out of here, but I can't carry everyone," Swift Wind said. "What about you, can we get some trees for cover?"

Perfuma shook her head. "I'm all out, I'll need to recharge. Bow?"

"I'm almost out of arrows," Bow said. "I've got nothing."

The robot prepared to open fire. Everyone braced for impact, unable to do anything but hope for the best. Turquoise and Bowenite flew and ran towards each other, respectively, reaching one another directly between the robot and the rest of the group. Light shone from their forms just as the robot fired. Rather than collide with the princesses, the beams were blocked by a familiar face, no match for the six-Gem fusion.

"Gueeeesssss whooooo's baaaaaack," Fluorite said.

"I'm back also!" Peridot said, hopping to the ground from the fusion's back. "Someone told me you could use some help!"

"Friend of Steven's?" asked Bow.

"Naturally," responded Peridot. A pair of robots flanked the group, charging their lasers. It took some effort, but Peridot was able to rotate them towards each other with her magnetic powers, each one instead blasting the other. "Now, what are we fighting?"

Perfuma gestured towards the giant robot, with Peridot reacting frightfully when she turned around. At the very least, Fluorite was attempting to wrestle the bot into submission, though it still seemed too powerful for even her.

"I don't suppose any of you have a plan?" asked Peridot.

"Whaaaateeever youuuuu're doooiiingggg," Fluorite said. "Dooooo iiiiiit quiiiiiicklyyy!"

"I might have something," said Bow. "What was your name again?"

"Peridot," answered Peridot.

"Well, Peridot, do you think you could get some of those robots to shoot at the big one?"

"Are you kidding?" Peridot said. "Getting people to shoot at me is a talent of mine! Also I have metal powers. But yeah, let's do it!"

"There's our plan," said Bow. "We'll destroy the robot with help from the other robots!"

Perfuma and Frosta, their powers waning, fell back behind the rest of the group. Bow readied an arrow, Mermista swing her trident, Swift Wind took flight, and Peridot struck a pose.

"Let's get 'em!" said Peridot.


	16. Clash

Chapter Sixteen: Clash

* * *

The sword of Protection and Rose Quartz's sword clashed against one another with tremendous force. Despite being turned into a berserk instrument of destruction with little more intellectual prowess than a rampaging beast, Adora still knew how to handle a blade.

Stevonnie was pushed back from the force of the impact. Adora charged forward, barely giving them enough time to recover. Stevonnie rolled to the side just as Adora brought her blade down.

"Adora, I don't know if you can hear me in there," Stevonnie said, "but if you can, I don't want to fight you!"

Adora growled and swung her sword from the side. Stevonnie caught the blade on Steven's shield in the nick of time. The two warriors pushed against each other's advance.

"Okay, not much on talking, then, are you?" said Stevonnie as she struggled. Manic laughter was the only response from Adora. "Okay then, let's try something else."

The Sword of Protection repeatedly glanced off of Steven's shield. Said shield held strong, but Stevonnie was pushed backwards with each impact. It was only when Adora pulled back for a massive strike that they could make their move. Stevonnie struck out with their shield, hitting Adora square in the chest and sending her off-balance.

As Adora fell backwards, her grip on her sword loosened for just a moment. In that moment, Stevonnie was certain that her eyes switched from red to blue. However, before the sword could clatter to the rooftop, the red tendrils emerging from the Runestone extended to wrap around Adora's wrist, pulling the sword back into her grasp just as she hit the ground.

"The sword…" Stevonnie said to themself. "That's it! We just need to separate her from the sword!"

Adora stood up, turning to face Stevonnie with a look of rage.

"Of course, that'll be easier said than done…" they said.

Adora charged once more. Stevonnie jumped high into the air to avoid her strike, returning to the roof just behind her. They responded with a swift thrust with the butt of their sword to the back of Adora's head. This only seemed to make her angrier, however, as she began to swing her weapon indiscriminately around herself, seemingly to not give Stevonnie any way to advance.

Just before the berserker could reach them, Stevonnie erected a bubble shield around herself. This barrier was not quite as strong as Steven's shield, so small cracks started to appear with each strike from Adora's sword.

"This would be easier if we had a plan," Stevonnie muttered.

The shield was just about to give way. Adora raised the sword above her head so that it pointed directly at Stevonnie. Thinking quickly, Stevonnie adjusted her grip on Rose Quartz's sword so that she held it by the blade.

The Sword of Protection thrust downwards, breaking the bubble shield into pieces. Stevonnie gripped their own sword tightly as that of her adversary threaded the needle through the handle of Rose's blade, becoming wedged between the handle and the crossguard.

Though Stevonnie was at a disadvantage, what with holding her sword by its blade, and She-Ra having the strength of ten women, they struggled for control nonetheless. The sword was designed to cut through Gems' physical forms, but that meant it was sharp enough to do considerable damage to organics as well. As the pair grappled for the prize of Adora's sword, Stevonnie was careful not to slice their palms in the process, though some damage was to be expected.

Getting nowhere by pushing or pulling, Stevonnie instead tried twisting. In this fight to disarm her enemy, leverage was everything. As her palms were growing sweaty from all of the exertion, Adora soon lost her grip on the Sword of Protection. Not expecting her to let go so soon, Stevonnie lost control of it as well. The sword flew off the side of the rooftops and clattered to the streets below. No longer under immediate corrupting influence, Adora collapsed to the ground, her She-Ra form dissipating.

Stevonnie sighed, seating themself on the ground. Rose's sword had left several cuts on their palms. Having retained Steven's healing saliva, a few kisses were enough to heal these wounds.

"I think...I think that takes care of that," said Stevonnie. "Adora, how are you...Adora?"

Adora had stood up on her own, but something about her seemed...off. Neither Steven nor Connie had actually met her before, but they could be certain this wasn't normal.

With a certain clumsiness rarely seen in even novice swordfighters, Adora stumbled over to the fusion. She bent over, studying Stevonnie for some time.

"Uh...Adora? Are you feeling okay?" asked Stevonnie.

A drowsy look replaced Adora's expression. "Yeah, 'm _amazing_. Who are you, anyway? How come we're on a roof?"

"Ooh. I hope I didn't break her," said Stevonnie. "Adora? How many fingers am I...Ow! Hey!"

Adora had given Rose Quartz's gemstone a good yank. She then giggled, saying, "You've got a pretty jewel on your tummy..." Adora then gasped as if she had been hit with a life-changing revelation. "Are you a princess!?" she yelled, getting right up in Stevonnie's face.

"Um, I certainly am," Stevonnie said, slightly fearful. She stood up. "Come on, we'd better get back to your friends."

Adora collapsed, making Stevonnie catch her. "Okay, I'm gonna take a li'l nap. Carry me?"

Stevonnie sighed. "Okay. I'll carry you."

Adora's face was filled with serious contemplation. "Are you my mommy?" she asked, apropos of nothing.

* * *

"You know," Scorpia said, panting, "I don't think I gave you enough credit. You're _really_ strong!"

Garnet grinned. "I _am_ made of love, after all!" The pair of reddish giants each threw a punch at the other. The resulting impact sent out a shockwave strong enough to blow back small objects that happened to be nearby.

"Man, wish we could make some of our stuff out of love," Scorpia said. She examined her claw, several cracks having appeared in her exoskeleton. "Mm, I'm gonna have to get that buffed out." As Garnet wound up for another punch, Scorpia swung around to trip her up with her tail. It worked, knocking Garnet off her feet.

However, Garnet had foreseen this. She kicked with both of her legs, sending her into a backflip, landing back on her feet, and sending Scorpia careening backwards onto her back. A small peach-colored object fell out of her pocket.

Lars, who was currently trying his best to resist being choked out by Lonnie, recognized this object. "Rhodonite! It's Padparadscha! Quick, get her to safety!"

Rhodonite, who was hiding towards the back of the room away from the combat, did just that. Charging through the fray, avoiding the combatants, she quickly scooped up Pads' gem before running out of the room.

On the way out, she ran past Entrapta, who was dodging and weaving out of the way of Amethyst's whip. "Ugh, stand _still_! The Gem groaned.

"I would, but that would leave me vulnerable to your weapon!" Entrapta replied.

"That's the idea!" said Amethyst. "Don't you understand fighting banter?" She rolled herself into a ball, spinning her way towards Entrapta.

Before she could impact with her foe, Amethyst was knocked away by a beam of energy. "Nice shot, Emily!" said Entrapta. The robot beeped happily.

On the other side of the room, Catra evaded every swipe of Pearl's spear, at one point even parrying it with her claws. She responded with several claw strikes, not enough to mortally wound a being such as a Gem, but certainly a problem.

"Steven told me about Rose Quartz, you know," the feline woman said. "About how you did _everything_ for her. All the things you sacrificed, everything you left behind. And how did she repay you? By running off with some fat slob who never did anything for anybody!"

"You're wrong!" Pearl countered. "Rose loved me! Just because she also loved Greg doesn't mean she didn't love me!"

"Sure, sure," Catra said. "You know, me and Adora used to be friends. We were inseparable, you could say. The one day, she just up and _leaves me_, all because of some magic sword and some people she barely knows! Aside from that sword...sound familiar?"

Catra caught hold of Pearl's spear, both of them wrestling for control of the polearm. "If Rose loved you so much, why did she leave you?" Catra continued. "Are you sure she wasn't just using you the whole time? That you weren't just another one of her puppets? How many of your friends did she throw under the bus for her little rebellion, anyway?"

Pearl pushed, sending Catra to the floor. She held the tip of her spear just in front of Catra's neck. "You don't know the first thing about Rose Quartz," Pearl growled.

"Don't I?" Catra retorted. "I sure know a thing or two about betrayal. Think about it: what do you owe these clowns, anyway? What have they ever done for you?"

Catra indicated Garnet and Amethyst, locked in battle with their Horde counterparts. Garnet and Scorpia were demolishing their side of the room in their brawl, while Amethyst had somehow gotten her whip entangled with Entrapta's hair.

"And what about Steven?" said Catra. "Rose Quartz gave up her physical form so she could, what, have a kid? Seems like a waste, doesn't it?"

"Be quiet!" shouted Pearl. "Don't you dare talk about Steven that way!"

"Pearl, Pearl, Pearl," said Catra. "You can yell at me all you want, but that won't change the truth." Catra pushed Pearl's spear to the side and stood up. Pearl did little to stop her. "Tell me, how many times have you wished that Rose would come back, even if it meant Steven had to…'leave?' How many times have you wondered just how much better your life would be if Steven wasn't in it?"

Pearl backed away. "Garnet, any idea where that disc is?" Pearl shouted to the side.

Garnet, recovering from a hit from Scorpia, was hit by something else: a premonition. "Amethyst! Entrapta has the disc! It's in her pocket!" she yelled.

Having just recently untangled her whip from the scientist's hair, Amethyst turned back towards Entrapta. "Doesn't seem like the best hiding spot, but it works for me!" she said.

"Well, I didn't want to lose it," Entrapta said. "Something as important this, I didn't want it to...Woah!" Entrapta ducked underneath Amethyst's whip. "Protect me, Emily!" she said.

Her robotic ally tried to blast Amethyst once more, and would have had Scorpia not collided with her, courtesy of Garnet.

With one more swing of her whip, Amethyst managed to bind Entrapta's arms and legs to her body. She stumbled, but was still able to move using her hair.

"Oh, come on!" said Amethyst. She yanked on her whip, both pulling Entrapta towards her and spinning the Dryllian princess like a top. The dizzied scientist fell to the ground, and the First Ones disc fell out of her pocket.

"Heh. Too easy," said Amethyst. She walked over to pick it up, but before she could, Entrapta picked it up with her hair.

"Scorpia! Catch!" she shouted, throwing the disc towards her friend, but due to her still being somewhat dazed, her aim was considerably off. The disc instead landed near Pearl and Catra.

Pearl spotted the disc first, but Catra was quicker. Pearl dove for it as soon as it landed near her, only for Catra to throw her to the ground, pinning her beneath her foot.

"When will you get this through your head?" said Catra. "You can't beat me! I've always got the upper hand, no matter what you do!"

"Not even...this?" Pearl asked. Her gemstone was enveloped in a bright white light as a holographic duplicate of herself sprung from it, pushing Catra off of her.

"Do you wish to engage in-" Before the Holo-Pearl could even get a sentence out, Catra tore through it with her claws.

"Do you really think that some cheap light tricks can-" Catra started to say, but she realized Pearl was gone.

Off to the side, Catra turned just in time to see Pearl drive her spear into the disc, shattering it into pieces.


	17. Breaching the Barrier Redux

Chapter Seventeen: Breaching the Barrier Redux

* * *

With Fluorite holding the giant robot back, one would expect the battle to be going much smoother. One would expect incorrectly. Fluorite, despite her size and strength, was not a fighter. While she was able to keep it from shooting at her allies, she did so by having it shoot her instead, which was beginning to take its toll.

"We need to take out its cannons first," Bow said. "Peridot, how are things looking on your end?"

"Not...too...good," the small Gem said, struggling. She was only barely able to lift a single one of the Horde's robots into the air, but she was unable to make it fire.

Mermista was keeping the other Horde robots from firing at the team. She washed a small group of them aside by summoning a wave of water, spearing one that remained through the optic with her trident. "We can't keep this up forever, Peridot! What's the hold up over there?"

"Urgh, it's not shooting!" Peridot said. "We have to give it a target, otherwise it's just going to keep trying to break free!"

Swift Wind was doing his best to distract the giant robot, kicking at its head and guns. He was doing nothing to dissuade it from firing at Fluorite, though the smaller robots on the ground seemed very intent on shooting him out of the sky.

"That's it!" said Peridot. "Flying Thing, you need fly in front of the robot I'm holding to make it fire!"

"Oh, sure, just what I needed: _more_ robots shooting at me! Also, what did you call me?"

"Swift Wind, we don't have a lot of time," Bow said.

"Alright, alright. Here goes nothing!" With that, Swift Wind flew directly into the robot Peridot was holding's line of sight. No other target in sight but him, the robot fired. The blast came nowhere near hitting Swift Wind, instead tearing a hole in the big robot's side.

"Hey look at that, we did it!" Peridot said happily.

"Hardly," Mermista replied. "It's like it didn't even care."

"Swift Wind, we're gonna need a few more passes," called Bow.

The winged unicorn obliged, flying in front of Peridot's bot several more times. Each time, the robot fired a blast that missed him and hit the bigger robot. Although Peridot was not as accurate as she could have been, with most of the shots hitting the robot's hull, a few even missing entirely, one lucky shot took one of the robot's cannons clean off.

"That's one down!" she said.

"Alright! Just one more left," Bow said. "Swift Wind, get ready to-"

But before Bow could finish, the robot aimed its remaining cannon in his direction. It charged up to fire as Peridot took notice.

"Look out!" shouted the Gem. Just as it fired, she pushed the robot in front of the beam. Bow shielded his eyes as the bot exploded in a flash of bright red light.

"Woah, thanks for the save!" he said.

"Don't worry about it!" said Peridot. "But now we don't have any way to shoot at it!"

"Don't worry we'll just grab one of the...other...bots…" Bow said. He had looked to the side, only to see Mermista surrounded by robot pieces.

"Yeah, there aren't any more robots," she said.

"Wait a minute: maybe we don't need them!" said Peridot. "Follow me!" She ran over to where the large robot's laser cannon had fallen, avoiding being stepped on by said robot in the process. Using her metal powers, she pulled the cannon off to the side.

"Now, if I can just figure out how to get this thing to work," she said. She began fiddling with some of the components within the cannon. "This would be much easier if I had my tools."

"Here, maybe I can help," Bow said. "I think if we just reroute this flow here, and connect these wires, then…" Upon doing so, the cannon fired a blast into the side of a building.

"It works!" said Peridot. She tried to lift it up with her powers, but it only got a few inches off the ground, "Oh, _wow_ is this thing heavy! Help me lift this, would you?" Bow did so, with the princesses coming over to help as well.

"A little bit more to the left!" said Perfuma. "No, the other left. Wait, that's too much, go back."

"Fluorite!" shouted Peridot. "When we give the signal, you need to get out of the way!"

"IIIII hoooope youuuu knooooow whaaat youuuu're dooooiiinng," the fusion said.

Peridot, Bow, and the princesses finally got the cannon lined up perfectly with the robot's head. "Now!" yelled Peridot.

Bow connected the wires just as Fluoride fell back. The cannon fired, flying backwards out of everyone's hands. The beam collided with the robot's head, tearing clean through it. The robot stumbled, before falling to the ground in a smoking heap.

"_That's_ how it's done," Mermista said. She held out her hand to Peridot for a high-five, but Peridot only stared. "Nevermind, don't worry about it." Frosta high-fived her instead.

"Weeeeeeell doooooone, youuuuu allll," Fluorite said.

"Now all that's left is Steven and Connie taking care of-She-Ra!" Perfuma said. Indeed, Stevonnie was approaching right now, carrying Adora.

Bow ran over. "Are you two okay?" he asked. "What happened to her?"

Stevonnie sighed. "She lost her sword, and now she's all...this."

Adora studied her surroundings. "You guys, I don't think this is Brightmoon. You sure you didn't make a wrong turn back there?"

"Uh-oh," Frosta said. "You didn't break her, did you?"

"No, she was like this last time," Bow said. "Hopefully she'll go back to normal when the Crystal Gems destroy the disc."

"And hopefully that's sooner rather than later, right Adora?" Stevonnie said.

Adora looked at Stevonnie contemplatively. "Do I know you from somewhere? Your voice is so familiar...Oh, I know! Hi Octavia, how've you been?"

Stevonnie groaned, handing Adora over to Bow. "Here, you take her back, I'm tired." They then split back up into Steven and Connie.

"Bow, hey, it's good to see you again!" Adora said. "So, how's the family?"

"You're sure she's okay...right?" asked Perfuma.

"Don't worry, she'll be back to normal just as soon as that disc is destroyed."

"But, how long will that take?" Mermista asked.

That very moment, Adora seemed to briefly slip into unconsciousness. Everyone assumed this was due to her drowsiness, but she soon sat up, much more lucid.

"Wh-wha'sgoin'on?" she mumbled. "Did we win yet?"

"Adora?" asked Bow. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, better now," she said. "So...any particular reason you're carrying me?"

"Not anymore," Bow said, setting her down.

"This must mean the Gems destroyed that disc thingy!" said Steven.

"Um, and who are you again?" said Adora. "I don't think we've met."

"Not technically," said Connie. "I'm Connie, and this is Steven."

"Wait..._you're_ Steven?" said Adora. "But you're, like, ten!"

"I'm older than I look," Steven admitted. "It doesn't look like it, but I'm actually fourteen."

"WHAT!?" shouted Frosta. "I thought you were younger than me!" She pouted. "Guess it's back to being the youngest on the team."

"As much as I'd like to stick around and hang out," said Steven," now that the disc's destroyed and the world is saved, I think we should get back to Earth now."

"We should get going before the Horde knows what's happening, too," Bow said. "It was really nice meeting you all. Hopefully we'll be able to hang out sometime in the future."

"I'd like that," said Steven.

Without warning, this touching goodbye was cut short by Rogelio being flung in between the group, colliding with a wall. Everyone's heads turned in the direction he had come from to see Glimmer, holding Adora's sword, no less.

"Did somebody drop this?" she asked with a smirk.

"Glimmer!" both Adora and Bow cried, running over to her. "Are you alright?" asked Bow. "What happened?"

"We whupped all their butts is what happened!" Glimmer said, handing Adora the sword. "Since you're back to normal, I take it the Gems destroyed the disc?"

"No time to celebrate!" shouted a voice. Rhodonite ran towards the group, holding the gems of Rutile and Padparadscha in her lower hands. "We've got a lot of Horde soldiers heading our way! We have to get out of here!"

"Wheeeeere iiiiiis Laaaars?" Fluorite asked.

"I don't know, he's back there somewhere, we got separated!" Rhodonite said.

"I'll go and get Lars," Steven said. "Connie, Peridot, you come with me. We'll make sure Lars gets out of here safely. Everyone else, head for safety."

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" asked Perfuma.

"Relax, he's Steven!" Peridot said. "Besides, me and Connor are here to protect him.

"Connie."

"Yes, that."

The off-colors and the Princess Alliance both said their farewells to their new allies from Earth as they headed out of the Fright Zone. Sure enough, more Horde soldiers were converging on their position. Connie and Steven slowly snuck around them as Peridot led them back to the portal.

"If I remember correctly, it's back here," Peridot said. As they crept down the hallways, they were greeted by an unusual sight. There was Entrapta, her arms and hair bound by Amethyst's whip, suspended from the ceiling by the very same weapon.

"Hey, I remember you guys!" she said. "I take it you're looking for the other Gems?"

Unsure, Steven nodded. "Um, yeah. Do you know where they went?"

"Last I saw, they and the pink one were going back to the portal room. I'd point you in the right direction, but I'm in a bit of a bind, pardon the pun."

"That's okay, I think we can find it. Thank you!" Steven said. Peridot continued to lead them towards the room.

Before long, Peridot ran into Lars...literally. Being smaller, Peridot was knocked to the ground when they collided.

"Oh, there you are!" said Lars. "Hey, guys, I found them!" Lars lifted Peridot to her feet as the other Gems rounded the corner.

"Hey guys!" said Steven. "Did you win?"

"Yeah we did!" said Amethyst. "Something tells me these Horde guys'll think twice about invading Earth again!"

"That's always nice to hear!" said Connie. "So, are we ready to head home?"

"That would be for the best," said Garnet. "The future doesn't look good if we stick around here."

Walking into the room, they saw the unconscious form of Lonnie lying on the ground. For that matter, the staff she had been using was now attached to Lars' belt.

"I guess this is goodbye again," Lars said. "As much as I'd like to go with you, I can't leave the off-colors behind. We'll find some way to get back our ship and get out of here, though."

"Goodbye, Lars," said Steven. "Hope you can come home soon!" The two hugged, before Steven and the others walked away, leaving Lars to his own devices once again.

"Are you sure Lars is going to be okay on his own?" asked Connie.

"Don't worry, he's got all the off-colors!" said Steven. "Plus, all the other new friend we made here."

"But what about the Horde?" asked Connie.

"What _about_ the Horde?" replied Catra from behind them.

Before anyone could react, Catra fired a blast from her stun baton into the group. The Crystal Gems were able to dodge, and Steven was able to block it with his shield before it could hit Peridot.

"We only just got to know each other, and you're leaving so soon?" she said, making her way over to the portal. "Couldn't you at least tell me some more stories about how you saved the Earth for the billionth time?"

The Crystal Gems all summoned their weapons, or readied her sword in the case of Connie. "What exactly do you expect to do here?" asked Garnet.

"Yeah, there's six of us and one of you!" said Amethyst.

"_And_, there's only one way back to Earth!" Catra aimed her stun baton at the portal, causing the Gems to back off. "If _any_ of you try anything funny, I'll destroy your only way back home. You'll be trapped here on Etheria, at the mercy of the Horde. Now be good little captives, and get to the prison!"

"Lars!" Steven suddenly shouted.

"Ugh, I forgot about him," Catra growled. "But as long as he's a prisoner of the Horde too, this portal is still the only-" Misunderstanding what Steven had meant, Catra was caught off-guard when Lars suddenly tackled her to the ground.

Lars did his best to hold Catra to the ground. "Quick, get through the portal!" he yelled. The Crystal Gems did so.

"What is it with you and showing up out of nowhere!?" said Catra. She was pushing the stun baton closer and closer to Lars' face, which he was barely resisting.

"Hey, you guys brought me here in the first place!" he said, struggling to resist Catra's attempts to stun him.

"And now, we're going to make sure you _never leave_!"

"On the contrary…" Lars said, straining, "...I think I'll see myself out!" With one final push, Lars redirected the stun baton so that it made contact with Catra's chest. Electricity surged through her as she was stunned, before falling unconscious.

Panting, Lars stood up, still holding the baton. "All right Lars, you did it!" shouted Steven from the other side of the portal.

"Yeah...I did," Lars said. "I guess I did."

Unfortunately, Scorpia chose that exact moment to round the corner. "Hey, Catra I heard some noise back here, did you wi- Catra!"

Lars just stood there, awkwardly holding the stun baton. "Uh...guys?" he said.

Growling, Scorpia charged. Lars was frozen in place, but was suddenly pulled through the portal by Garnet. Before Scorpia could cross over to Earth as well, Garnet brought a gauntleted fist down on their end's portal frame. The gateway between Etheria and Earth faded, leaving Scorpia to collide with a wall.

Catra got to her feet. She saw that the portal was no longer active, and pounded her fist into the floor, growling. Panting heavily, she stood up, and left the room.

"Yeah, no, I'm alright, thanks for asking!" said Scorpia from the floor.


	18. Loose Ends

Chapter Eighteen: Loose Ends

* * *

"Garnet...what...what did you do?" Lars asked.

Despite this question, it was obvious what she had done. She destroyed the only gateway between Earth and Etheria, leaving Lars separated from the off-colors with seemingly no way to get back.

"I'm sorry, Lars," said Garnet. "It was the only thing I could think of. If Scorpia got through, or if you got captured, the Horde would still try to take the Earth. I made the only decision that could have prevented that."

"But now the off-colors are stuck in some other dimension!" Lars said. "What are they going to do without their captain?"

"Don't worry about them," Steven said. "They managed to survive on Homeworld for millions of years, I'm sure they'll be fine! Besides, they've got the princesses to help them!"

"I guess so," Lars said. "But still, what kind of captain am I to just abandon my crew."

"Hey man, enough of this pity-party stuff," said Amethyst. "You didn't abandon nobody. You did everything you could for them."

Peridot stepped over. "If it's any consolation, I'm sure I can get this portal working again soon," said Peridot. "I helped build it, you know."

Steven consolingly placed his hand on Lars' back. "We'll go back for them," he said. Lars nodded, smiling. "But right now, the important thing is that _you're_ back! Come on, we've got somebody to say hi to!"

As Connie headed home (her parents were no doubt worried sick), Steven led Lars out of the temple and into Beach City. Before long, the two arrived at a familiar house in the suburbs.

Steven went over to knock on the door, but Lars stood back. "Lars? What's wrong?" asked Steven. "Don't you want to see Sadie again?"

"Well, yes," Lars said hesitantly, "but what if she doesn't want to see _me_? I've been gone for a while, and so much has happened. What if she doesn't-huh?"

Steven had already knocked on the door, and was talking with Sadie's mother, Barb. Soon enough, the familiar face of Lars' old coworker appeared in the door frame.

"L-Lars?" she asked softly. "Is that really you?"

Lars looked nervously towards Steven, who gestured towards Sadie. "Um...Y-yeah, it is," Lars said. "How...how've you been?"

"Well, good, I guess," Sadie said.

"So...I hear you started a band."

"Yeah. I hear you died."

"Yup."

"Wait a minute, I have an idea!" said Steven. "Lars, how about we go show you to your parents, and you can tell us all about your space adventures? I'll call Ronaldo, too!"

"That...sounds like a great idea, Steven," Lars said.

"Yeah," said Sadie. "I'd love to hear about what you did out there." She looked around. "Didn't you have a crew of Gems with you?"

"Oh, yeah," Lars said, looking at the ground.

"It's a long story," Steven said. "Lars was in space, then we went to another planet that was in another dimension, and they're trapped there. But don't worry, they're with our new friends! Come on, Lars, your mom and dad really missed you!"

Steven ran off into the distance, stopping a ways away to let Lars and Sadie catch up. Sadie stepped out of the house, standing next to Lars.

"Well, let's get going," she said.

"Yeah," said Lars. "You know...Steven brought me a recording of some of yous guys' songs...but I'd really like to hear them in person some time."

Sadie smiled. "Sounds like a plan!"

As the three of them walked down the street, slowly, ever so slowly, Lars and Sadie's hands grew closer together. Not quite grasping the other, but close enough to touch.

* * *

"Again, I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here!" said Rhodonite. "Aside from that Horde, this planet is much friendlier than Homeworld!"

"Oh, don't mention it," said the sorceress known as Castaspella. "Any friend of Glimmer's is welcome in Mystacor. You can stay as long as you like!"

"Thank you, but we should get going eventually," said Rutile's left side. "Yes, Lars will likely be worried," her right side added.

"So, Auntie, do the ancient writings mention anything about Gems?" Glimmer asked.

"Not specifically," said Castaspella. "I did manage to find a passage mentioning, and I quote, 'beings who were made of pure light.' It dates back several thousand years, so it certainly _could_ be about Gems, but it's hard to say for sure."

"Well, it's better than nothing," said Glimmer. "So, what's it say?"

Castaspella grinned at her. "You know, it is getting late," she said. "Maybe I could read it to you for a bedtime story?"

Glimmer groaned. "Aunt Casta, come on! Not in front of the guests!"

Meanwhile, Adora and Bow were off to the side, discussing the portal between Earth and Etheria.

"So, is there any way to replicate it?" asked Adora.

"Not with what we have now," said Bow. He was looking at some schematics on his tracker pad. "Unless we have to sets of portals, with one here and one on already on Earth, the only way to make a gateway would require not only an extremely powerful First Ones artifact, but some way to specifically target the Earth."

"Well, we have one of those," said Adora, raising her sword. "I'm sure something will come up sooner or later."

"I hope so," Bow said. "If the Horde gets to Earth first, there's no telling what they'll do."

* * *

"We are not going back to Earth," Hordak said.

"What!?" exclaimed Catra. "But, Lord Hordak, what about all the potential resources?"

"The Earth is too heavily protected," Hordak replied. "We have enough problems dealing with She-Ra and the princesses, we don't need to draw the ire of a rogue cell of Gems on top of that!"

"The Gems are nothing!" Catra said. "We had them dead to rights, we could have finished them off if the Princess Alliance didn't interfere!"

"You have solved your own conundrum," Hordak said. "Besides, even a small group of Gems is not to be underestimated."

"Sir, just give me one more shot!" asked Catra. "We'll be prepared this time, we'll know what to expect!"

"I will not discuss this further," Hordak said. "Focus all of our efforts on the princesses, and waste no more time on planet Earth. Dismissed."

Reluctantly, Catra left the room, leaving Hordak to his own devices. He was accompanied only by Imp, the small creature perched on his arm.

"We will take the Earth in time," he said aloud. "Using the power of Etheria, I will rebuild our army, and restore the Horde to its former glory! I will then destroy all of Gemkind; I will avenge my brother."

Catra angrily walked out of Hordak's inner sanctum, greeted by Entrapta and Scorpia on the outside. "So, what'd he say?" asked Scorpia.

"He said we're not going back to Earth," Catra said.

"Ah. Oh well," Scorpia mused. "You win some, you lose some, you know?"

"Quiet. Just because Hordak said that doesn't mean we aren't going back there," Catra said.

"Wait, you're going back even though Hordak said not to?" she asked. "Isn't that basically treason? We're not going to get in trouble, are we?"

Catra ignored her. "Entrapta, you can build another portal, can't you?" she asked.

"Eh, yes and no," answered Entrapta. "Me and Hordak were already building some portals, but without a direct line to Earth, we're back to square one. We'd need some sort of beacon, so to speak. Some way to connect ourselves to Earth."

The trio had begun to return to Entrapta's workshop. "What sort of beacon?" asked Scorpia.

"Pretty much anything we can connect to," said Entrapta. "The portal frames were ideal, but anything would work, like a…"

"What about a communicator?" Catra asked.

"Yeah, a communicator would work perfectly, actually!" Entrapta said.

"That works out nicely," Catra said. "I just so happened to drop mine right inside the Crystal Gems' temple. Can you access it remotely?"

"Can I!?" Entrapta said excitedly. She broke into a run, Catra and Scorpia following behind her. She had already begun constructing some kind of portal device.

"A communicator, that's perfect!" she said. "All we have to do is call it once this thing is ready, and we have a direct line to Earth!"

Catra grinned. "And we have a direct line to the Crystal Gems."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Entrapta said, hopping off of her workbench. She began rummaging through her stash of First Ones tech. "In order to power a device like this, we're going to need a particularly powerful First Ones artifact. Fortunately, I happen to have just the thing!"

Entrapta returned, holding an object behind her back. "I found this bad boy a little while back," she said. "I've been saving it for a special occasion, and I think this qualifies!"

Catra was largely unimpressed, unlike Scorpia. "Ooh, what is it?" Scorpia asked, excited.

With an exaggerated swing, Entrapta brought the object out from behind her back, holding it triumphantly above her head. It was a scepter of some sort; light purple in color, with a dark purple gemstone at the tip.

"Behold!" she cried excitedly. "The Staff of Keldor!"


End file.
